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CORNELL 

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History  of  Morris  CountVj..  New  ...Jersey,  wi 


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Cornell  University 
Library 


The  original  of  this  book  is  in 
the  Cornell  University  Library. 

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the  United  States  on  the  use  of  the  text. 


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PROMINENT   CITIZENS    AND    PIONEERS, 


NEW    YORK: 
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36  Vesey  Street. 


1882. 


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PRESS  OF  GEORGE  MACNAMARA,  36  VESEY  STREET,  NFW  YORK. 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS. 


OUTLIl^E  HISTORY  OF  ^^  JERSEY. 


PAOE. 

CHAPTER    I. 
The  Indians  of  New  Jersey— Discovery 

and  Settlement  of  the  State T,8 

CHAPTEB  TI. 
New  Jersey  under  the  Dutch  and  English 

Governors— Slavery 8-10 

CHAPTEH   lir. 
New  Jersey's  part  in  the  French  and  Rev- 
olutionary Wars 11, 12 

CHAPTEK  IV. 
Participation  of  the  State  in  the  Wars  of 
this  Centnry 12, 13 

CHAPTER  v/ 
Educational,  Governmental  and  Benevo- 
lent Institutions— The   State   Administra- 
tion       13-15 

CHAPTER   VI. 
Mineral      Resources— Industries— Canals 
and  Railroads— Population 15,16 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 

CHAPTER    I. 
The  Indians  in  Possession— Early  Boun- 
dary Lines-The  First  Settlements 17-20 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Formation  of  Morris  County  and  its 

Division  into  Townships 20-23 

CHAPTER   III. 
The  Prelude  to  the  Revolution— Patriot 

Leaders  of  Morris  County 22-27 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Morris  County  Troops  in  the  Continental 

Army 27-31 

CHAPTER    V. 
Morris  County  Militia  in  the  Revolution 

—Incidents  of  the  War 32-37 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Recovering  from  the  Revolution— Mor- 
ris County  Men  in  the  War  of  1812 37-39 

CHAPTER   VII. 
The  Iron  Industry  of  Morris  Countj'— 
Early  Enterprises- Forges  and  Bloomaries     39-48 
CHAPTER   VIII. 
Charcoal  Furnaces— Pompton,  Hibernia, 

Mt.  Hope  and  Split  Rock 48-56 

CHAPTER   IX. 
Slitting    and   Rolling   Mills— An tiiracite 

Furnaces  and  Foundries 56-62 

CHAPTER  X. 
Iron  Mines  of  Morris  County 62-68 


PAGE 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Travel  and  Transportation— Turnpikes— 

The  Morris  Canal— Railroads 66-71 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Religious  and  Educational  Interests 71-73 

CHAPTEK   XIH. 
Political  Parties  and  Candidates— Officers 

and  Representatives 73-80 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
Opening  of  the  Civil  War— First  Volun- 
teers—Ladies' Aid  Societies 80,81 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Company  K   7th  N.  J.— Captain  South- 
ard's Engineers— Captain  Duncan's   Com- 
pany,.        81-85 

CHAPTER   XVI. 
The  11th    N.  J.  Regiment— Battles  and 

Losses  of  Companies  E  and  H 85-88 

CHAPTER  XVIL 
The  Brilliant  Record  of  Companies  C  and 

F  15th  N.  J.  Volunteers 88-93 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
History  of  the  27th  N.  J.  Volunteer  In- 
fantry—The  Cumberland  River  Disaster...      93-97 
CHAPTER   XIX. 
Drafting— "Emergency  Men  "—Company 

K  1st  N.  J.— Company  I  33d  N.  J 97-100 

CHAPTER  XX. 

The  39th  N.  J.  Volunteers— Roll  of  Com- 
pany K— List  of  Patriot  Dead 100-102 

CHAPTER   XXI. 

A  Sketch  of  the  Geology  and  Physical 
Geography  of  Morris  County 10.2-1C8 


CITY  A^D  TOWr(SHIP  HISTORIES. 

Boonton 177-186 

Chatham 187-210 

Chester 211-216 

Hanover 217-228 

Jefferson 229-240 

Mendham 341-248 

Montvil  le 249-253 

Morristown 109-176 

Mount  Olive 254-259 

Passaic 260-264 

Peguannock 265-289 

Randolph 290-330 

Rockaway 331-363 

Roxbury 364-371 

Washington o72-;!iriS 


VILL/GES. 

Bartley  ville 255 

Boonton 178 

Budd's  Lake 255 


PAGE 

Butler 396 

Chatham 199 

Chester 211 

Dover 313 

Drakeville 366 

Ferromonte 310 

Flanders 255 

Hanover 231 

Littleton 221 

Madison 200 

McCain  ville 366 

Mill  Brook 310 

Mine  Hill 310 

Morristown .' 109 

Mount  Freedom 310 

Mount  Olive 355 

New  Vernon 26,') 

Parsippany — 231 

Port  Morris 366 

Port  Oram 309 

South  Stanhope 255 

Stanley 200 

Sucoasunna 365 

Troy 221 

Walnut  Grove 310 

Whippany 221 

BIOGI|APHIC/L   SKETCHES. 

Allen,  Jabez  L 328 

Allen,  Job 341 

A.xtel  1  Family 242 

Baker,  Henry 360 

Baker,  William  H 362 

Barnes,  Rev.  Albert 136 

Beaman,  David 342 

Bergen,  Rev- John  G 208 

Boisaubin,  Vincent 203 

Brown,  John  P 24U 

Budd,  Daniel 315 

Butterworth,  Joshua  H 326 

Byram  Family 243 

Campfield,  Jabez .si 

Chandler,  L.  A ,362 

Condiet,  Silas 26 

Cook,  Ellis 26 

Cook,  Silas 252 

Cooper,  Daniel 263 

Cooper,  Nathan  A 211 

Darby,John 220 

Darcy ,  John 31 

De  Hart,  William 24 

Diclcerson,  Jonathan 321 

Dickerson,  Mahlon 321 

Dickerson,  Peter 25,  321 

Dod  Family 243 

Drake,  Jacob 25 

Faesch,  John  Jacob 53, 281,  337 

Fairchild  Family 2'28 

Fisher,  Rev.  Samuel 136 

Ford,  Jacob  sen..  23, 114,  115 

Ford,  Jacob  jv 115 

Ford,  Rev.  John 22U 


a4 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Gaines,  Nathaniel 252 

Garrison,  Samuel  L 18G 

Green,  Kev.  Jacob 334 

Hager,  John  S 377 

Hager,  Lawrence 376 

Halsey,  Samuel  B 361 

Hancock,  Rev.  John 210 

HannFamil3' 374 

Harcouv,  Hev.  Samuel 213 

Hasenolever,  Peter 43 

Hinchman  Family 334 

Hinchman,  Guy  M 58,  335 

Hinchman,  Joseph 324 

HofE  Family 361 

Horton,  Kev.  Azariah 205 

Hull,  Aurelius  B 170 

Jaekson,  John  Darby 361 

Jackson,  Joseph 360 

Johnes,  Rev.  Timothy 131,  133 

Kanouse  Family 269 

Kearney,  Michael 318 

King,  Andrew 43, 298 

King,  William  L 171 

Kitchel,  Aaron 3 19 

Kitchel,  Abraham 20 

Lefevre,  William  B 237 

Lefevre,  William  Jeff 392 

Littell  Family 261 

Marsh,  Ephraim 380 

McBowell,  Rev.  William  A 136 

Megie  Family 388 

Moylan,  Stephen 51 

Neighbour  Family 375 

Ogden,  Abraham 24 

Ogden,  Samuel . . .  -. 24 

Oram,  Robert  F 328 

Randolph,  T.F 168 

Richards,  George 337 

Richards,  Hev.  James 135 

Sanders  Family 343 

Sohenok,  Rev,  J.  V.  N 383 

Segur,  Thomas  B 336 

Spencer,  Oliver 31 

Stickle,  Hubbard  S 362 

Stiles,  Jonathan 24 

Stoddard,  Rev.  E.  W .370 

Stotesbury,  John 53 

Stoutenburg  Family 382 

Thompson,  David 36 

Tuthill,  Samuel 34 

Tuttle,  Rev.  Joseph  F 344 

Tuttle.Rev.  Samuel  L 308 


PAGE 

Vail,  Alfred 160 

Vail,  George 175 

Vanatta,  Jacob 172 

Ward,  L.  B 176 

Welsh  Family 375 

Wick,  Henry 35 

Winds,  William 24,  399 

Woodhull,  Rev.  William 213 

Young,  David 319 


P0RTI\A1TS. 

Baker,  Henry,  Rockaway 360 

Biker,  William  H.,    '•         363 

Bruen,  James  H.,      "        312 

Budd,  Daniel,  Shester 315 

Butterworth,  J.  H.,  Dover 336 

Cobb,  Andrew  B.,  Hanover 319 

Cooper,  Nathan  A.,  Chester 311 

Cooper,  Mary  H.,  "        312 

Dickerson,  Mahlon,  Randolph 331 

Drake,  Nelson  H.,  Mt.  Olive 375 

Fairchild,  E.  M.,  Hanover 329 

Fairohild,  R.  V.  W.,    "       337 

Fairchild,  Stephen,     "       328 

Garrison,  S.  L.,  Boonton 186 

Hager,  John  S.,  German  Valley 377 

Hager,  Lawrence,    "  "        376 

Hinchman,  G.  M.,  Dover 328 

Hull,  Aurelius  B.,  Morristown 170 

Johnson,  William  C„  Chatham 199 

King,  William  L.,  Morristown 171 

Lindsley,  Oscar,  Passaic 199 

Marsh,  Ephraim,  Schooley's  Mountain 380 

Stoddard,  E.  W.,  Succasunna 370 

Ward,  L.  B.,  Morristown 176 

Vail,  George,  Morristown 175 

Vanatta,  Jacob,  "  173 


ILLUSTI^ATIONS, 

PAGE 

Baker,  William  H.,  Homestead,  Rockaway 363 

Hartley,  William  &  Son,  Machine  Shop,  Bart- 

leyville 255 

Beach,  Columbus,  Residence,  Dover 316 

Brown,  John  P.,  Hotel,  Newfoundland 240 

Chovey,  Charles  L.,  Residence,  Madison 204 

Cole,  J.  P.,  Residence,  Montville 351 

Cooper,  N.  A.,  dec— late  Residence,  Chester. . .  213 


PAGE 

Crowell,  D.  A.,  Belmont  Hall,  Schooley's  Mt...  283 

Elliott,  Alex.,  Residence,  Dover 316 

Evans,  Mrs.  J.  D.,  Residence,  Chester 202 

Fairchild,  Mrs.  R.  V.  W.,  Residence,  Hanover. .  163 

Frontispiece ^ 

George,  Richard,  Residence,  Dover 314 

Green,  William  S.,  Residence,  Denville 312 

Guerin,  B.  C,  Hotel,  Morristown 147 

Hance,  John,  Residence,  Randolph 312 

Hopper,  Peter,  Residence,  Pompton  Plains....  282 
Howland,  Mrs.  William  H., Residence,  Montville  163 

Hurd,  Edward  C  Residence,  Dover 293 

Hurd,  Lewis  C,  Residence,  Hurdtown 230 

Johnson,  William  C,  Residence,  Chatham 199 

King,  V.  B.,  Residence,  Morristown 173 

Lanning,  G.  M.,  Residence,  Afton 300 

Leddell,  S.  W.,  Residence,  Mendham 279 

Macwithey,  A.  A.,  Residence.,  Pompton 282 

Map  of  Morris  County 8 

Marsh,  William  W.,  Residence,  Schooley's  Mt. .  380 

McParlan,  H.,  Residence.  Dover 292 

Moller,  Daniel,  Opera  House,  Dover 312 

Oram,  Robert  F.,  Residence,  near  Dover 328 

Post,  John  F.,  Residence,  Pompton 279 

Richards,  George,  Residence.  Dover 337 

Richards,  Samuel  E.,  Residence,  Afton 200 

Komondt,  C.  D.  V.,  Residence.  Pompton 279 

Rubber  Comb  and  Jewelry  Works 396 

Scenery  in  Morris  County  (frontispiece) 1 

Sharp,  J.  M.,  Hotel,  Budd's  Lake 255 

Simpson,  James  H.,  Residence,  Dover 318 

Stickle,  B.  K.&G.W.,  LumberYard,  Rockaway  358 

Thebaud,  Edward,  Residence,  Madison 200 

Thebaud,  E.  v.,  '•  ''  ..; 200 

Todd,  Edward,  "  "  208 

Vanatta,  Jacob,  dec,  late  Residence,  Morris- 
town   173 

Washington's  Headquarters,  Morristown 166 

Webb,  James  A.,  Residence,  Madison 202 

Welsh,  John  C,  Residence,  German  Valley 375 

Zabrislcie,  A.  J.  B.,  Residence,  Montville 251 


/PPENDIX. 

Financial  History— Reformatory  Institutions.  389 

Abstract  of  the  Proprietors'  Title 393 

The  11th  New  Jersey  Volunteers 395 

The  Village  of  Butler 396 

INDEX  TO  NAMES 398-407 


PREFACE 


To  one  whose  own  neighborhood  has  been  the  theater 
of  events  prominent  in  the  nation's  annals,  the  history  of 
those  events  is  the  most  interesting  of  all  history.  To 
the  intrinsic  fascination  of  stirring  incidents  is  added 
the  charm  of  their  having  occurred  on  familiar  ground. 
The  river  is  more  than  a  volume  of  water  irrigating  its 
banks  and  turning  mill-wheels — more  than  a  blue  ribbon 
woven  into  the  green  vesture  of  the  earth — to  one  who 
knows  how  it  has  affected  the  course  of  events  along  its 
valley  for  a  century  or  more,  determining  the  location 
first  of  the  Indian  camp  and  then  of  the  white  man's  vil- 
lage; the  line,  first  of  the  red  warrior's  trail  and  finally 
of  the  railway  and  the  canal;  now  the  route  of  an  army's 
march  and  anon  that  of  a  nation's  domestic  commerce. 
The  road  that  has  been  traveled  unthinkingly  for  years  is 
invested  with  a  new  interest  if  found  to  have  followed  an 
Indian  trail.  The  field  where  one  has  harvested  but 
grain  or  fruit  for  many  a  season  brings  forth  a  crop  of  as- 
sociations and  ideas  when  it  is  understood  that  il  was  the 
camping  ground  of  the  patriots  whose  labors  and  endur- 
ance founded  the  nation.  The  people  will  look  with 
heightened  and  more  intelligent  interest  upon  ancient 
buildings  in  their  midst — already  venerated  by  them,  they 
hardly  know  why — when  they  read  the  authentic  record 
of  events  with  which  these  monuments  of  the  past  are  as- 
sociated. The  annals  of  a  region  so  famous  as  that  of 
which  these  pages  treat  give  it  a  new  and  powerful 
element  of  interest  for  its  inhabitants,  and  strengthen 
that  miniature  but  admirable  patriotism  which  consists 
in  the  love  of  one's  own  locality. 

It  has  heretofore  been  possible  for  the  scholar,  with  lei- 
sure and  a  comprehensive  library,  to  trace  out  the  writ- 
ten history  of  his  county  by  patient  research  among  vol- 
uminous government  documents  and  many  volumes, 
sometimes  old  and  scarce;  but  these  sources  of  informa- 
tion and  the  time  to  study  them  are  not  at  the  command 


of  most  of  those  who  are  intelligently  interested  in  local 
history,  and  there  are  many  unpublished  facts  to  be  res- 
cued from  the  failing  memories  of  the  oldest  residents, 
who  would  soon  have  carried  their  information  with 
them  to  the  grave;  and  others  to  be  obtained  from 
the  citizens  best  informed  in  regard  to  the  various  inter- 
ests and  institutions  of  the  county,  which  should  be 
treated  of  in  giving  its  history. 

This  service  of  research  and  compilation,  which  very 
few  could  have  undertaken  for  themselves,  the  pub- 
lishers of  this  work  have  caused  to  be  performed; 
enlisting  in  the  effort  gentlemen  whose  standing  in 
the  community,  whose  familiarity  with  local  events, 
and  whose  personal  interest  in  having  their  several 
localities  fitly  represented,  afford  the  amplest  guaranty 
for  the  trustworthiness  of  their  work.  The  names  of 
these  gentlemen  appear  in  connection  with  the  sec- 
tions of  the  history  contributed  by  them.  They  have 
therein  acknowledged  the  aid  derived  from  the  au 
thorities  most  serviceable  to  them.  In  addition  to 
such  acknowledgments  the  author  of  the  history  of 
Chester  would  mention  the  loan  of  books  to  him  by 
Hon.  Samuel  H.  Hunt,  and  of  a  historical  discourse 
by  Rev.  Frank  A.  Johnson,  from  which  he  derived 
his  account  of  the  Congregational  church  of  Chester. 
It  should  perhaps  be  said  that  the  authors  of  the 
city  and  township  histories  in  most  cases  did  not 
write  the  biographical  sketches  attached  to  those  his- 
tories. 

While  a  few  unimportant  mistakes  may  perhaps  be 
found  in  such  a  multitude  of  details,  in  spite  of  the  care 
exercised  in  the  production  of  the  work,  the  publishers 
confidently  present  this  result  of  many  months'  labor  as 
a  true  and  orderly  narrative  of  all  the  events  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  county  which  were  of  sufficient  interest 
to  merit  such  record. 


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^{ffTERDO 


Scale-  3%  inches  io  -I  miley. — 


OUTLINE  HISTORY 


OF    THE 


STATE  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE   INDIANS   OF    NEW    JERSEY — DISCOVERY    AND   SETTLE- 
MENT   OF    THE     STATE. 


fT  the  time  of  its  discovery  by  the  whites  the 
region  which  includes  New  Jersey  was  inhab- 
ited by  the  Delaware  Indians,  or,  as  they 
termed  themselves,  the  Lenni  Lenapes — a 
name  which  has  had  various  interpretations, 
among  which  are  those  of  "  original  people  " 
and  "  unmixed  people."  They  were  a  portion 
of  the  people  who  were  known  by  the  generic  name  of 
Wapanachki,  which  according  to  Heckewelder  means 
"  people  at  the  rising  of  the  sun,"  or  eastlanders. 

Notwithstanding  the  eastern  name  which  they  bore 
their  traditions  related  that  they  came  from  the  western 
part  of  the  American  continent,  where  they  had  resided 
during  many  centuries  and  whence  they  came  eastward 
with  the  Mengwe  or  Iroquois,  whom  they  encountered  on 
their  journey.  Their  traditions  further  related  that  the 
Lenape  and  Mengwe  people  dwelt  peacefully  together 
during  several  centuries,  but  that  they  separated  and  the 
Lenapes  came  to  occupy  the  region  bordering  on  the 
great  salt  water  lake  and  watered  by  four  great  rivers,  the 
Delaware,  Hudson,  Susquehanna  and  Potomac. 

The  government  of  the  Lenape  Indians  was  somewhat 
similar  to  that  of  the  Iroquois,  and  like  them  the  Lenapes 
were  divided  into  totemic  tribes.  In  the  case  of  the 
latter  these  were  called  the  Unami,  the  Unalachta  and 
the  Minsi,  or  the  Turtle,  the  Turkey  and  the  Wolf.  In 
the  case  of  the  Iroquois  there  were  eight  of  these  divis- 
ions, each  with  its  totemic  designation.  The  relation 
of  these  tribal  divisions  to  each  other  was  such  as  to  give 
great  cohesive  strength  to  the  nation.  Although  these 
Indians  were  untamed  savages,  who  had  not  the  advan- 
tages of  the  recorded  experience  of  past  ages,  yet  with 


the  Iroquois  and  to  a  less  extent  with  the  Lenapes  a  civil 
system  existed  which  could  not  fail  to  challenge  the  ad- 
miration of  the  students  of  both  ancient  and  modern  sys- 
tems of  government.  It  may  truly  be  said  of  these 
people  that,  with  all  their  savagery,  so  long  as  they  were 
uncontamihated  by  the  vices  of  civilization  they  were  in 
their  domestic  and  social  relations  far  better  than  many 
who  have  sought  to  impose  their  civilization  on  them. 

At  a  period  which  is  not  definitely  fixed  the  Lenapes 
were  subjugated  by  th-eir  powerful  and  warlike  neighbors 
the  Iroquois,  and,  although  they  had  previous  to  this 
subjugation  been  a  warlike  people,  they  were  degraded 
from  their  position  as  warriors;  or,  in  the  language  of 
their  savage  conquerors,  "made  women."  Through  the 
instrumentality  of  Sir  William  Johnson  they  were  in  1756 
rehabilitated,  or  "  made  men  again." 

The  Indians  of  New  Jersey  on  several  occasions  be- 
came hostile  to  the  whites,  either  on  their  own  account 
or  as  the  allies  of  tribes  with  whom  they  were  on  friendly 
terms.  As  in  the  Indian  wars  of  later  times,  however, 
the  causes  of  these  outbreaks  could  usually  be  traced  to 
some  act  of  injustice  on  the  part  of  the  whites.  Such  an 
outbreak  occurred  in  1643,  during  the  administration  of 
Governor  Kieft,  in  which  the  Hackensacks  and  Tappans 
made  common  cause  with  their  neighbors  in  revenging 
some  injuries  that  had  been  inflicted  on  them  by  the 
Dutch  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year.  A  still  more 
serious  war  broke  out,  in  which  the  New  Jersey  Indians 
again  made  common  cause  with  those  of  Long  Island 
and  the  Hudson  River.  In  this  instance  peace  was  not 
finally  concluded  till  the  summer  of  1645. 

It  is  said  that  the  shores  of  North  America  were  first 
visited  by  the  Northmen,  in  the  year  986,  and  that  several 
voyages  were  made  by  them  to  this  country  during  the 
twenty-five  years  immediately  following.  These  alleged 
discoveries  led  to  no  practical  results.  The  first  effectual 
and  important  discoveries  on  this  continent  were  made  by 
Christopher  Columbus,  in  1492  and  the  few  succeeding 
years.  It  is  not  necessary  to  speak  in  detail  of  the  many 
voyagers  who  came  to  this  country  after  its  discovery  by 


8 


OUTLINE  HISTORY  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 


Columbus  but  who  failed  to  discover  this  portion  of  the 
continent.  It  is  said  that  in  1624  John  de  Verrazano,  a 
Florentine  navigator,  sailed  to  America  and  proceeded 
along  the  coast  from  Florida  to  the  fiftieth  degree  of 
north  latitude,  and  that  he  entered  the  harbor  of  New 
York.  If  so,  no  practical  result  followed  his  discovery, 
and  during  almost  a  century  the  region  was  not  again 
visited  by  Europeans. 

In  1609  Henry  Hudson,  an  Englishman  in  the  service 
of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company,  while  seeking  for  a 
northwest  passage  to  Asia,  entered  the  Delaware  Bay,  in 
which  he  sailed  but  a  short  distance  on  account  of  the 
shoal  water.  Sailing  thence  northward  along  the  eastern 
shore  of  New  Jersey  he  anchored  his  ship  (the  "  Half- 
Moon  ")  within  Sandy  Hook  September  3d  of  that  year. 
On  the  5th  he  sent  a  boat's  crew  ashore  within  Sandy 
Hook,  and  they  penetrated  some  distance  into  the  region 
now  included  in  Monmouth  county.  The  next  day  a 
crew  of  five  was  sent  to  make  explorations  and  soundings 
in  the  Narrows.  It  is  stated  by  the  writer  of  the  ship's 
journal  that  they  found  "  a  large  opening  and  a  narrow 
river  to  the  west,"  which  was  probably  the  Kill  von  Kull, 
the  channel  between  Bergen  Point  and  Staten  Island. 
On  the  return  of  the  crew  they  were  attacked  by  the  na- 
tives in  two  canoes,  and  one  man,  named  John  Coleman, 
was  killed.  His  body  was  interred  the  next  day  on  what 
was  called  from  that  circumstance  Coleman's  Point — 
probably  Sandy  Hook.  Hudson  sailed  up  the  river  which 
bears  his  name,  as  far  as  Albany,  whence  he  returned, 
and  on  the  4th  of  October  sailed  for  Europe. 

In  1614  a  fort  and  trading  house  were  erected  on  the 
southwestern  point  of  Manhattan  Island,  which  was 
named  New  Amsterdam,  and  the  Dutch  colony  here  was 
called  New  Netherlands. 

It  is  not  positively  known  when  the  first  European  set- 
tlement was  made  within  the  limits  of  New  Jersey.  It  is 
believed  that  a  number  of  Danes  or  Norwegians  who 
came  to  New  Netherlands  with  the  Dutch  colonists  com- 
menced a  settlement  at  Bergen  about  the  year  i6i8.  In 
1614  a  redoubt  was  constructed  on  the  west  shore  of  the 
Hudson  River,  probably  at  Jersey  City  Point. 

The  first  attempt  to  establish  a  settlement  on  the  east- 
ern shore  of  the  Delaware  River  was  made  in  1623,  by 
Captain  Cornelius  Jacobsen  Mey,  in  the  service  of  the 
"  Privileged  West  India  Company."  He  sailed  up  Dela- 
ware Bay  and  River,  and  built  a  fort  (Fort  Nassau)  at 
Techaacho,  on  a  stream  which  empties  into  the  Delaware 
a  few  miles  below  Camden. 

The  West  India  Company,  to  encourage  settlement 
here,  granted  the  right  of  pre-emption  to  large  tracts  of 
land,  and  the  grantees  accordingly  purchased  the  lands 
from  the  Indians.  In  1630  they  formed  an  association 
and  sent  a  vessel,  under  the  command  of  David  Peiter- 
son  de  Vries,  with  settlers.  They  arrived  early  in  1631, 
to  find  that  Fort  Nassau  was  possessed  by  the  Indians 
and  none  of  the  settlers  were  there.  De  Vries  erected  a 
fort  and  left  a  colony,  which  was  soon  afterward  mas- 
sacred by  the  Indians.  He  returned  shortly  afterward 
with  a  new  company,  and  narrowly  escaped  a  similar 


fate.  The  Dutch  soon  abandoned  the  Delaware,  and 
during  some  years  the  country  remained  without  Euro- 
pean inhabitants. 

In  1637  the  Swedes  settled  on  the  Delaware.  Two 
ships  with  settlers  came  during  that  year,  followed  after- 
ward by  others,  and  in  1642  John  Printz  was  sent  over 
as  governor  of  the  colony.  He  established  himself  on 
the  island  of  Tennekeng,  or  Tennicum,  where  he  erected 
a  fort,  church,  etc.  Soon  afterward  the  Dutch  re-estab- 
lished a  settlement  at  Fort  Nassau  and  made  settlements 
elsewhere  on  the  river,  and  for  a  time  the  country  was 
occupied  by  the  two  nations  in  common.  Differences 
arose,  however,  which  led  to  general  hostilities,  and  the 
Swedes  were  in  1655  dispossessed  by  the  Dutch.  This 
was  the  termination  of  the  Swedish  authority  here. 

From  this  time  till  1664  the  country  on  the  Delaware 
was  wholly  under  Dutch  control,  and  was  governed  by 
directors  appointed  by  the  governor  of  the  colony  at 
New  Amsterdam.  These  directors  were,  in  the  order  of 
their  succession,  Johannes  Paul  Jaquet,  Peter  Alricks, 
Hinojossa  and  William  Beekman.  "  These  officers 
granted  lands,  and  their  patents  make  part  of  the  titles 
of  the  present  possessors.  At  this  period  the  Dutch  ac- 
quired large  tracts  of  country  upon  the  eastern  side  of 
New  Jersey,  and  it  may  be  reasonably  supposed  that 
there  was  some  settlement  on  the  road  between  the 
colonies  on  the  Hudson  and  Delaware." 

The  English  laid  claim  to  this  territory  on  the  ground 
of  prior  discovery  by  Cabot,  and  on  the  additional 
ground  that  Henry  Hudson,  though  in  the  service  of  the 
Dutch  when  he  discovered  the  region,  was  born  an  Eng- 
lishman; and  it  does  not  appear  that  they  ever  abandoned 
the  claim. 

Their  attempts  to  form  settlements  on  the  Delaware 
were  resisted  by  the  Dutch  and  Swedes,  and  even  vio- 
lence was  resorted  to,  which  gave  rise  to  controversies 
between  the  New  England  and  Dutch  governments. 


CHAPTER  II. 


NEW    JERSEY    UNDER   THE    DUTCH    AND    ENGLISH  GOVERN- 
ORS— SLAVERY. 


N  1664  Charles  II.  of  England  sent  a  force 
under  Sir  Robert  Carr  and  Colonel ,  Richard 
Nicoll  to  dispossess  the  Dutch  of  their  terri- 
tory in  the  New  World.  Governor  Stuyve- 
sant,  of  New  Amsterdam,  was  by  reason  of 
his  defenseless  condition  compelled  to  surrender 
without  resistance,  and  the  conquest  of  the  colony 
on  the  Delaware  was  accomplished  by  Sir  Robert  Carr 
"with  the  expenditure  of  two  barrels  of  powder  and 
twenty  shot."  At  this  time  an  extensive  grant  of  terri- 
tory was  made  by  King  Charles  to  his  brother,  the  Duke 


NEW  JERSEY  UNDER  THE  COLONIAL  GOVERNORS. 


of  York,  and  lie  on  the  23d  of  June  1664  conveyed  to 
Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Carteret  the  territory  now 
comprising  New  Jersey,  by  the  following  instrument, 
which  first  definitely  described  its  boundaries: 

"  This  Indenture,  made  the  three-and-twentieth  day 
of  June  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  the  feign  of  our  Sover- 
eign Lord  Charles  the  Second  by  the  gface  of  God  of 
England,  Scotland,  France  and  Ireland,  King  Defender 
of  the  Faith — Anno  Dominie  1664 — between  his  Royal 
Highness  James  Duke  of  York  and  Albany,  Earl  of 
Ulster,  Lord  High  Admiral  of  England  and  Ireland, 
Constable  of  Dover  Castle,  Lord  Warden  of  the  Cinque 
Ports  and  Governor  of  Portsmouth,  of  the  one  part,  John 
Lord  Berkeley,  Baron  of  Stratton  and  one  of  his  Majes- 
tie's  most  honorable  privy  council,  and- Sir  George  Car- 
teret, of  Stratturm,  in  the  county  of  Devon,  Knight  and 
one  of  his  Majestie's  most  honorable  privy  council,  of 
the  other  part,,Witnesaeth  that  the  said  James  Duke  of 
York,  for  and  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  ten  shillings 
of  lavyrful  money  of^  England,  to  him  in  hand  paid,  by 
these  presents  doth  bargain  and  sell  unto  the  said  John 
Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Carteret  all  that  tract  of 
land  adjacent  to  New  England  and  lying  and  being  to 
the  westward  of  Long  Island,  bounded  on  the  east  part 
by  the  main  sea  and  part  by  Hudson  River  and  hath 
upon  the  west  Delaware  Bay  or  River,  and  extendeth 
southward  to  the  main  ocean  as  far  as  Cape  May,  at  the 
mouth  of  Delaware  Bay,  and  to  the  northward  as  far  as 
the  northernmost  branch  of  said  bay  or  river  of  the  Dela- 
ware, which  is  in  forty-one  degrees  and  forty  minutes  of 
latitude;  and  worketh  over  thence  in  a  straight  line  to 
Hudson  River — which  said  tract  of  land  is  hereafter  to 
be  called  by  the  name  or  names  of  Nova  Csesarea  or  New- 
Jersey." 

The  feudal  tenure  was  recognized  by  the  agreement  to 
pay  an  annual  rent  of  one  pepper  corn  if  demanded. 
The  proprietors  formed  a  constitution,  or,  as  it  was 
termed,  "concessions  and  agreement  of  the  lords  pro- 
prietors," which  secured  equal  privileges  and  liberty  of 
conscience  to  all,  and  it  continued  in  force  till  the  divis- 
ion, of  the. province  in  1676.  Philip  Carteret  was  ap- 
pointed governor,  and  in  1665  he  made  Elizabethtown 
the  seat  of  government.  The  constitution  established  a 
representative  government  and  made  liberal  provision 
for  settlers..  In  a  few  years  domestic  disputes  arose,  and 
in  1672  an  insurrection  occurred  compelling  Governor 
Carteret  to  leave  the  province. 

In  1673  England  and  Holland  were  at  war,  and  a 
squadron  was  sent  by  the  Dutch  to  repossess  New  Neth- 
erland,  which  was  surrendered  without  resistance  by 
Captain  Manning  in  the  absence  of  Governor  Lovelace. 
On  the  conclusion  of  peace  between  England  and  Hol- 
land New  Netherland  was  restored  to  the  former.  The 
governor  of  New  York,  Major  Edmund  Andross,  claimed 
jurisdiction  over  New  Jersey,  insisting  that  the  Dutch 
conquest  extinguished  the  proprietary  title  ;  but  early  in 
1675  Governor  Carteret  returned  and  resumed  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  eastern  part  of  the  province.  He  was 
kindly  received  by  the  people,  who  had  become  dissatis- 
fied with  the  arbitrary  rule  of  Governor  Andross.  A  new 
set  of  concessions  was  published  and  peaceable  subordi- 
nation was  established  in  the  colony.  Governor  Andross, 
however,   continued  his  efforts  to   enforce   the  duke's 


jurisdiction,  and  at  last  sent  a  force  to  Elizabethtown  to 
arrest  Governor  Carteret  and  to  convey  him  to  New 
York. 

A  second  grant  was  made  to  Sir  George  Carteret,  but 
previously  to  this  it  appears  that  Lord  Berkeley  and  he 
had  partitioned  the  province;  for  the  country  described 
in  this  grant  was  bounded  on  the  southwest  by  a  line 
drawn  from  Barnegat  Creek  to  the  Rancocus.  Thus 
the  province  became  divided  into  East  and  West  New 
Jersey. 

Lord  Berkeley  was  not  satisfied  with  the  pecuniary 
prospects  of  his  colonization  venture  and  sold  his  inter- 
est to  two  Quakers,  John  Fenwicke  and  Edward  Byl- 
linge,  for  the  sum  of  one  thousand  pounds.  Byllinge, 
who  was  the  principal  proprietor,  became  embarrassed, 
and  his  share  was  conveyed  far  the  benefit  of  his  credi- 
tors to  William  Penn,  Gawen  Lawrie  and  Nicholas  Lucas, 
who  were  also  Quakers.  These  trustees  sold  shares  to 
different  purchasers,  who  thus  became  proprietaries  in 
common  with  them.  A  constitution  or  form  of  govern- 
ment similar  in  many  respects  to  the  "  concessions  "  of 
Berkeley  and  Carteret  was  adopted  by  those  proprietaries, 
and  on  the  ist  of  July  1676  a  line  of  division  between 
New  West  Jersey  and  New  East  Jersey  was  determined 
by  Sir  George  Carteret  and  the  trustees  of  Byllinge. 
This  line  was  defined  as  extending  "  from  the  east  side 
of  Little  Egg  Harbor  straight  north  through  the  country 
to  the  utmost  branch  of  Delaware  River." 

Many  settlers  were  attracted  hither,  nearly  all  of  whom 
were  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  Land  was  purchased 
from  the  Indians,  and  the  town  of  Burlington — first  called 
New  Beverley,  then  Bridlington — was  established.  The  in- 
dustry and  patience  of  the  settlers  met  their  reward  and 
prosperity  prevailed  among  them. 

As  in  the  case  of  East  Jersey,  Governor  Andross,  of 
New  York,  claimed  and  sought  to  enforce  jurisdiction 
over  the  western  part  of  the  province,  and  finally  imposed 
a  tax  of  five  per  cent,  on  European  merchandise  im- 
ported. This  led  to  protests  and  representations  which  in- 
duced the  duke  in  1680  to  abandon  all  claims  on  West 
New  Jersey  and  confirm  the  rights  of  the  trustees  of  Byl- 
hnge  and  the  assignees  of  Fenwicke. 

The  proprietor  of  East  New  Jersey,  Sir  George  Carteret, 
died  in  1679.  By  his  will  he  directed  the  sale  of  that  part 
of  the  province  for  the  payment  of  his  debts,  and  it  was 
accordingly  sold  to  William  Penn  and  eleven  others,  who 
were  termed  the  twelve  proprietors.  A  fresh  impetus 
was  given  to  the  settlement  of  the  country,  especially  by 
people  from  Scotland.  Each  of  the  twelve  proprietors 
took  a  partner,  and  they  all  came  to  be  known  as  the 
twenty-four  proprietors,  and  to  them  the  Duke  of  York, 
on  the  14th  of  March  1682,  made  a  fresh  grant.  A  notable 
difference  had  been  observed  in  the  character  of  the  laws 
enacted  in  East  and  West  Jersey,  and  it  is  an  instructive 
fact  that  under  the  milder  and  more  merciful  laws  of  the 
latter  crime  was  less  frequent  than  under  the  severe 
enactments  of  the  former. 

Under  the  new  regime  in  East  Jersey  Robert  Barclay, 
one  of  the  proprietors,  was  chosen  governor  for  life,  with 


OUTLINE  HISTORY  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 


power  to  name  his  deputies.  These  were,  in  succession: 
Thomas  Rudyard  (1683),  Gawen  Lawrie,  Lord  Niel 
Campbell  and  Alexander  Hamilton. 

In  West  Jersey  Samuel  Jennings  was  commissioned 
deputy  governor  by  Byllinge  in  1680,  and  during  the  next 
year  he  convened  an  assembly,  which  adopted  a  consti- 
tution and  form  of  government.  His  successors  were 
Thomas  Olive,  John  Skene,  William  Welsh,  Daniel  Coxe 
and  Andrew  Hamilton. 

In  1 701  the  condition  of  things  in  both  provinces  had 
come  to  be  such  that  the  benefits  of  good  government 
were  not  attainable.  Each  had  many  proprietors,  and 
their  conflicting  interests  occasioned  such  discord  that 
the  people  became  quite  willing  to  listen  to  overtures  for 
a  surrender  of  the  proprietary  government.  "The  pro- 
prietors, weary  of  contending  with  each  ottier  and  with 
the  people,  drew  up  an  instrument  whereby  they  sur- 
rendered their  right  of  government  to  the  crown,  which 
was  accepted  by  Queen  Anne  on  the  17th  of  April  1702. 
The  queen  at  once  reunited  the  two  provinces,  and 
placed  the  government  of  New  Jersey  as  well  as  of  New 
York  in  the  hands  of  her  kinsman  Lord  Cornbury."  The 
commission  and  instructions  which  Cornbury  received 
formed  the  constitution  and  government  of  the  province 
until  its  declaration  of  independence.  The  new  govern- 
ment was  composed  of  the  governor  and  twelve  councilors, 
nominated  by  the  crown,  and  an  assembly  of  twenty-four 
members  to  be  elected  by  the  people  for  an  indefinite 
term.  Among  the  instructions  given  to  the  governor  was 
the  following:  "  Forasmuch  as  great  inconveniences  may 
arise  by  the  liberty  oi  printing  in  our  said  province,  you 
are  to  provide  by  all  necessary  orders  that  no  person 
keep  any  press  for  printing,  nor  that  any  book,  pamphlet 
or  other  matters  whatsoever  be  printed  without  your 
especial  leave  and  license  first  obtained." 

Cornbury's  rule  was  terminated  by  the  revocation  of 
his  commission  in  1708.  It  was  characterized  by  mean- 
ness, extravagance,  despotism,  bigotry,  avarice,  and  pub- 
lic and  private  injustice.  He  was  succeeded  by  John 
Lord  Lovelace,  who  soon  died,  and  the  functions  of  gov- 
ernment were  discharged  by  Lieutenant  Governor  In- 
goldsby  till  17 10,  when  Governor  Hunter  commenced 
his  administration.  It  is  said  of  him  that  "he  assented 
to  most  of  the  laws  the  people  wanted,  and  filled  the 
offices  with  men  of  character."  He  was  followed  in  1720 
by  William  Burnet,  who  was  removed  to  Boston  in  1727. 
John  Montgomerie  then  became  governor,  and  so  con- 
tinued till  his  death,  in  1731.  His  successor,  William 
Cosby,  was  removed  by  death  in  1736.  The  government 
then  devolved  on  John  Anderson,  president  of  the  coun- 
cil, who  died  in  about  two  weeks  and  was  succeeded  by 
John  Hamilton  (son  of  Andrew  Hamilton,  governor  un- 
der the  proprietors),  who  served  nearly  two  years.  In 
1738  Lewis  Morris  Esq.  was  appointed  governor  of  New 
Jersey  "  separate  from  New  York.  He  continued  till 
his  death,  in  the  spring  of  1746.  He  was  succeeded  by 
President  Hamilton.      He  dying  it  devolved  upon  John 


Reading,  Esq.,  as  the  next  eldest  councilor.  He  exer- 
cised the  office  till  the  summer  of  i747>  when  Jonathan 
Belcher,  Esq.,  arrived.  He  died  in  the  summer  of 
1757  and  was  succeeded  by  John  Reading,  Esq., 
president.  Francis  Bernard,  Esq.,  appointed  governor 
in  1758,  was  removed  to  Boston,  and  succeeded 
here  by  Thomas  Boone,  Esq.,  in  1760."  He  was 
succeeded  by  Josiah  Hardy,  and  in  1763  by  William 
Franklin,  the  last  royal  governor  and  a  son  of  Dr. 
Benjamin  Franklin. 

From  the  first  settlement  of  New  Jersey  slavery  existed 
here.  No  measures  were  adopted  for  its  prevention,  and 
with  the  sentiment  that  then  prevailed  concerning  the 
slave  trade  and  the  institution  of  slavery  it  is  not  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  it  could  be  prohibited.  In  the  "con- 
cessions "  of  1664-65  "weaker  servants  or  slaves"  were 
spoken  of,  and  for  every  such  servant  above  the  age 
of  £4  brought  into  the  province  75  acres  of  land  were 
allowed  the  master.  When  Lord  Cornbury  was  made 
governor  of  the  province  he  was  instructed  as  follows  : 
"  And  whereas  we  are  willing  to  recommend  unto  the 
said  company  that  the  said  province  may  have  a  con- 
stant and  sufficient  supply  of  merchantable  negroes  at 
moderate  rates  in  money  or  commodities,  so  you  are  to 
take  especial  care  that  payment  made  be  duly  made  and 
within  a  competent  time,  according  to  agreement."  "And 
you  are  to  take  care  that  there  be  no  trading  from  our 
said  province  to  any  place  in  Africa  within  the  charter  of 
the  Royal  African  Company,  otherwise  than  prescribed 
by  an  act  of  Parliament  entitled  '  An  act  to  settle  the 
trade  of  Africa.'  " 

Barracks  once  stood  near  the  junction  of  Smith  and 
Water  streets  in  Perth  Amboy  for  the  reception  and  con- 
finement of  slaves  when  imported.  Much  of  the  labor 
of  families  was  for  many  years  previous  to  the  Revolu- 
tion performed  by  slaves. 

As  early  as  1696  the  Quakers  of  this  province  united 
with  those  of  Pennsylvania  to  discourage  the  importation 
and  employment  of  slaves,  but  their  example  was  not 
followed  by  others. 

In  New  Jersey  as  elsewhere  severe  penalties  were  in- 
flicted on  negroes  for  crimes,  and  these  often  followed 
closely  after  the  commission  of  the  crimes.  Whipping, 
branding,  hanging  and  even  burning  alive  were  among 
the  punishments  inflicted.  The  peace  of  the  province 
was  disturbed  it  is  said  by  several  risings  or  attempted 
insurrections  among  the  slaves,  but  these  were  promptly- 
suppressed. 

February  24th  1820  a  law  was  enacted  making  every 
child  born  of  slave  parents  subsequent  to  July  4th 
1804  free,  the  males  on  arriving  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  years  and  the  females  at  twenty-one.  Under  this- 
law  and  that  of  1846  slavery  has  disappeared  from  the- 
State.  ' 

In  1790  there  were  in  the  State  11,423  slaves;  in  i8oq> 
12,422;  1810,  10,851;  1820,  7,557;  1830,  2,254;  1840, 
674;  1850,  236;   i860,  18. 


EARLY  REVOLUTIONARY  EVENTS. 


II 


CHAPTER  IlL 


NKW    JERSEY  S    PART    IN    THE    FRENCH    AND    REVOLUTION- 
ARY   WARS. 


'N  1744  war  was  formally  declared  between 
France  and  Great  Britain.  Masked  hostili- 
ties had  been  for  some  time  carried  on.  In 
1746  the  Assembly  of  New  Jersey  resolved 
to  furnish  five  hundred  men  to  assist  in  the 
conquest  of  Canada.  In  response  to  the  call  for 
this  number  660  offered  themselves,  and  one  com- 
pany was  transferred  to  the  quota  of  New  York.  In  the 
French  and  Indian  hostilities  which  succeeded  this 
period,  and  which  were  not  terminated  till  1763,  New 
Jersey  nobly  sustained  her  part.  In  response  to  the  call 
of  the  English  minister,  Mr.  Pitt,  on  the  colonies  it  is 
said:  "  The  Assembly  of  New  Jersey,  instead  of  raising 
reluctantly  five  hundred  men,  doubled  that  number;  and 
to  fill  the  ranks  in  season  offered  a  bounty  of  twelve 
pounds  per  man,  increased  the  pay  of  the  officers  and 
voted  a  sum  of  _;£'5o,ooo  for  their  maincenance.  They 
at  the  same  session  directed  barracks  to  be  built  at 
Burlington,  Trenton,  New  lirunswick,  Araboy  and  Eliza- 
bethtown,  competent  each  for  the  accommodation  of 
three  hundred  men.  *  *  *  This  complement  of  one 
thousand  men  New  Jersey  kept  up  during  the  years  1758, 
1759  and  176c;  and  in  the  years  1761  and  1762  fur- 
nished six  hundred  men,  besides  in  the  latter  year  a 
company  of  sixty-four  men  and  officers  especially  for 
garrison;  for  which  she  incurred  an  average  expense  of 
_;^4o,ooo  per  annum." 

It  is  neither  practicable  nor  desirable  in  a  brief  sketch 
like  this  to  discuss  the  causes  which  led  to  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution.  New  Jersey  bore  a  prominent  and 
honorable  part  in  that  memorable  contest,  and  not  only 
was  her  soil  the  scene  of  active  military  operations, 
but  it  was  more  than  once  made  red  by  the  blood  of  the 
defenders  of  American  liberty. 

Action  was  taken  by  the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey  in 
opposition  to  the  oppressive  acts  of  the  British  govern- 
ment as  early  as  February  1774,  when  a  State  committee 
of  correspondence  was  appointed,  with  instructions  to 
watch  and  make  known  all  matters  which  might  affect 
the  liberties  and  privileges  of  the  colonists. 

In  July  of  the  same  year  conventions  of  the  people 
were  held  in  the  various  county  towns,  and  resolutions 
were  adopted  condemning  in  strong  terms  the  oppressive 
acts  of  Great  Britain.  Deputies  were  also  chosen  to  a 
convention  for  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  General 
Congress  at  Philadelphia.  These  delegates  were  James 
Kinsey,  William  Livingston,  John  De  Hart,  Stephen 
Crane  and  Richard  Smith.  The  convention  was  held  be- 
cause of  the  refusal  of  the  governor  to  summon  the 
Assembly  when  requested  to  do  so.  At  its  next  session, 
in  January  1775,  the  Assembly  approved  the  proceedings 
of  Congress,  and  chose  the  same  representatives  for  the 


future  Congress.  A  convention  called  by  the  committee 
of  correspondence  assembled  at  Trenton  on  the  23d  of 
May  1775,  to  consider  and  determine  such  matters  as  de- 
manded attention.  This  convention  or  provincial  Con- 
gress, ''  reflecting  the  majesty  of  the  people,  assumed  as 
occasion  required  the  full  power  of  all  the  branches  of 
government."  It  provided  for  the  formation  of  one 
or  more  companies,  of  eighty  men  each,  in  every  town- 
ship or  corporation,  and  to  defray  necessary  expenses 
voted  a  tax  of  _;^io,ooo. 

On  the  5th  of  August  in  the  same  year  this  provincial 
Congress  reassembled  and  provided  for  the  organization 
cf  fifty-four  companies,  each  of  sixty-four  minute  men, 
allotting  to  each  county  a  certain  number.  A  resolution 
was  adopted  to  respect  the  rights  of  conscience  of  the 
Quakers,  but  askin;;  them  to  contribute  to  the  relief  of 
their  distressed  brethren.  The  Congress  made  provision 
for  the  perpetuation  of  the  authority  which  it  had  as- 
sumed, and  directed  "that  during  the  continuance  of  the 
present  unhappy  dispute  between  Great  Britain  and 
America  there  be  a  new  choice  of  deputies  in  every 
county  yearly,  on  the  third  Thursday  of  September." 

The  Legislature  was  convened  on  the  i6th  of  Novem- 
ber 1775  by  Governor  Franklin,  and  he  addressed  it  at 
some  length.  He  seemed  desirous  to  be  assured  of  his 
personal  safety,  and  of  the  fact  that  the  Assembly  did 
not  intend  to  declare  independence,  both  of  which  as- 
surances were  given  him.  "  On  December  6th  1775  ^^^ 
house  was  prorogued  by  the  governor  until  the  third  day 
of  January  1776,  but  it  never  reassembled,  and  thus 
terminated  the  provincial  Legislature  of  New  Jersey." 

Although  at  the  close  of  1775  the  feeling  was  strong 
against  a  declaration  of  independence  by  the  colonies, 
yet  the  experience  of  a  few  months  wrought  an  entire 
change;  and  when,  on  the  fourth  of  July  1776,  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  adopted  such  a  declaration  the  senti- 
ment of  a  majority  of  the  patriots  in  New  Jersey,  as  else- 
where, approved  it. 

On  the  loth  of  June  1776  the  Provincial  Congress  of 
New  Jersey  assembled,  and  oa  the  21st  of  the  same 
month  resolved  by  a  vote  of  54  to  3  to  organize  a  colo- 
nial or  State  government,  pursuant  to  a  recommendation 
made  by  the  Continental  Congress  on  the  15th  of  May. 
On  the  26th  of  June  a  constitution  was  reported,  and  on 
the  2nd  of  July  it  was  adopted,  thus  virtually,  though 
not  in  words,  severing  the  connection  between  the  colony 
and  the  mother  country.  The  declaration  of  independ- 
ence by  Congress  was  approved  on  the  17th  of  July. 
Governor  Franklin  was  thus  reduced  to  the  condition  of 
an  idle  spectator  of  the  doings  of  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress. He  made  an  impotent  attempt  to  exercise  his  au- 
thority, but  he  was  finally  arrested  and  sent  to  Connecti- 
cut, whence  he  sailed  to  England. 

Here  as  elsewhere  of  course  there  were  many  loyalists. 
Lenient  measures  toward  them  were  at  first  adopted,  but 
as  time  went  on  severer  measures  were  found  necessary. 
The  tories  here  as  elsewhere  were  more  malignant  in  their 
hostility  than  the  British  soldiery,  and  by  reason  of  their 
acquaintance  with  the  country  were  able  to  inflict  on  the 


12 


OUTLINE  HISTORY  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 


patriots  great  injuries.     Laws  were  enacted  declaring  the 
forfeiture  of  their  estates  and  disfranchising  thera. 

It  is  not  practicable  to  give  even  a  distinct  outline  of 
the  military  operations  of  which  New  Jersey  was  the 
theater  during  the  Revolution.  Active  hostilities  were 
carried  on  here  for  several  years" of  the  struggle;  import- 
ant battles  were  fought  on  the  soil  of  the  State,  many 
minor  engagements  occurred,  and  there  is  hardly  a  town 
along  the  track  of  the  armies  which  crossed  and  recrossed 
the  State  that  was  not  rendered  historic  by  some  enter- 
prise or  exploit.  The  losses  of  New  Jersey  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary struggle,  both  in  men  and  property,  in  propor- 
tion to  her  wealth  and  population,  were  greater  than 
those  of  any  of  her  sisters.  "  When  General  Washington 
was  retreating  through  the  Jerseys,  almost  forsaken,  her 
militia  were  at  all  times  obedient  to  his  orders,  and  for 
a  considerable  time  composed  the  strength  of  his  army. 
The  military  services  performed  by  the  soldiers  of  New 
Jersey  and  the  sufferings  of  her  people  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary war  entitle  her  to  the  gratitude  of  her  sister 
States.  By  her  sacrifices  of  blood  and  treasure  in  resist- 
ing oppression  she  is  entitled  to  stand  in  the  foremost 
rank  among  those  who  struggled  for  American  freedom." 


CHAPTER  IV. 


PARTICIPATION    OF    THE    STATE    IN     THE     WARS     OF     THIS 
CENTURY. 


?T  is  not  necessary  to  discuss  at  length  the 
causes  which  led  to  the  war  of  1812  with 
Great  Britain.  It  may,  however,  be  stated 
that  the  principal  of  these  were  the  assump- 
tion by  that  power  of  the  right  to  search 
American  vessels  and  impress  seamen  into  the 
British  service,  and  the  violation  of  the  rights  of 
neutrals  on  the  high  seas.  War  was  declared  on  the  19th 
of  June  1812;  but  five  months  previously  the  State  of  New 
Jersey  had  by  resolutions  in  the  I>egislature  placed  her- 
self on  the  record  in  its  favor.  Though. this  State  did  not 
become  the  theater  of  active  hostilities  prompt  measures 
were  adopted  to  meet  any  emergencies  that  might  arise. 
In  1812  all  uniformed  companies  within  the  State  were 
called  on  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  take  the 
field  on  short  notice,  and  the  call  was  obeyed  with 
alacrity.  Subsequently  calls  were  made  for  men  to  guard 
the  coast  in  times  when  danger  was  apprehended,  and  in 
every  case  prompt  response  was  made  to  these  calls. 
Troops  were  sent  to  Marcus  and  Paulus  Hooks  and  to 
Staten  Islsnd  for  the  defense  of  those  points,  and  the 
.quota  of  the  State  for  the  war  was  furnished  at  an  early 
period.  About  four  thousand  men  were  called  into 
actual  service,  for  terms  averaging  about  three  months, 
and  the  pay  from  the  State  to  these  men,  in  addition  to 
that  which  they  received  from  the  government,  amounted 
to  $36,000. 


Peace  was  concluded  at  Ghent  on  the  17th  of  February 
1815,  and  in  this  State  as  elswhere  the  event  was  hailed 
with  lively  demonstrations  of  joy. 

In  1846,  by  reason  of  the  annexation  of  Texas  to  the 
United  States,  difficulties  with  Mexico  arose  which  re- 
sulted in  war.  To  aid  in  the  prosecution  of  this  war 
many  troops  from  New  Jersey  were  raised  in  companies 
and  admitted  as  volunteers  directly  into  the  service  of 
the  United  States.  These  volunteers  accompanied  Gen- 
eral Taylor  in  his  campaigns  in  Mexico.  In  May  1846 
a  call  was  made  on  Governor  Stratton  of  this  State  for  a 
corps  of  volunteers,  which  was  very  promptly  furnished. 
The  troops  from  this  State  participated  in  all  the  cam- 
paigns of  this  war,  and  shared  its  hardships  and  priva- 
tions and  its  triumphs.  It  may  be  remarked  that  the 
commander-in-chief.  General  Winfield  Scott,  Colonel 
Phil  Kearney  and  Commodore  Robert  F.  Stockton,  all  of 
whom  bore  an  honorable  part  in  this  war,  were  Jerseymeii. 

December  20th  i860  a  convention  of  delegates  chosen 
by  the  people  of  South  Carolina  under  authority  of  the 
Legislature  adopted  an  ordinance  of  secession  from  the 
Union.  Other  Southern  States  soon  followed  the  ex- 
ample of  South  Carolina,  and  in  February  1861  a  con- 
vention of  delegates  appointed  by  the  conventions  of  six 
seceding  States  adopted  a  form  of  government,  termed 
the  "  Confederate  States  of  America." 

On  the  29th  of  January  1861  the  Legislature  of  New 
Jersey  adopted  a  series  of  resolutions,  setting  forth  the 
duty  of  the  citizens  to  sustain  the  Union,  and  declaring 
that  the  government  of  the  Uuited  States  is  a  national 
government  and  not  a  mere  compact  or  association. 

On  the  12th  of  the  following  April  Fort  Sumter,  in 
the  harbor  of  Charleston,  was  bombarded,  and  compelled 
to  surrender  to  the  rebels  on  the  13th.  On  the  15th 
President  Lincoln  issued  a  proclamation  calling  for  75,- 
000  men  to  suppress  the  rebellion.  Under  this  call  the 
quota  of  New  Jersey  was  3,120.  On  the  i7lh  Governor 
Olden  received  from  the  War  Department  the  requisi- 
tion for  these  men,  and  he  immediately  issued  his  proc- 
lamation calling  for  individvals  or  organizations  to  re- 
port for  service  within  twenty  days. 

In  New  Jersey  as  in  other  Inyal  States  a  spontane- 
ous uprising  at  once  took  place.  "  In  every  town  and 
village  the  people,  assembled  in  public  meetings,  pledged 
their  utmost  resources  in  behalf  of  the  imperiled  gov- 
ernment. The  banks  came  forward  with  liberal  offers 
of  money,  leading  citizens  proffered  their-  assistance  to 
the  authorities,  every  fireside  shone  with  the  lustre  of 
patriotic  feeling,  and  even  schools  shared  in  the  absorb- 
ing excitement.  It  was  a  carnival  of  patriotism  from 
one  end  of  the  State  to  the  other." 

On  the  23d  of  April  the  first  company— the  Olden 
Guards,  Captain  Joseph  A.  Yard,  of  Trenton — was 
mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States.  Quickly 
following  this  were  other  companies,  so  that  by  the  30th 
of  the  same  month  the  brigade  was  full.  An  extra 
session  of  the  Legislature  was  convened  on  the  30th  of 
April  and  a  loan  of  $2,000,000  was  authorized  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  the  troops.     Within  sixty  days  the  banks 


CIVIL  WAR  RECORD— SCHOOL  HISTORY. 


13 


in  the  State  had  subscribed  to  this  loan  the  aggregate 
sum  of  $705,000,  and  individuals  had  taken  $76,000, 
making  a  total  of  $781,000. 

On  the  sth  of  May  the  New  Jersey  troops  reached 
Annapolis,  and  on  the  6th  they  reported  for  duty  to  the 
War  Department  in  Washington. 

On  the  3d  of  May  1861  a  call  was  issued  by  the  Presi- 
dent for  thirty-nine  regiments  of  infantry  and  one  of  cav- 
alry, to  serve  three  years  or  during  the  war.  Under  this 
call  the  quota  of  New  Jersey  was  three  regiments.  Such 
had  been  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  that  not  only  had 
the  first  quota  been  filled,  but  about  five  thousand  men 
had  enlisted  in  New  York,  and  nearly  a  sufficient  number 
of  companies  were  organized  to  fill  this  second  quota. 
The  regiments  were  organized  at  once  and  were  uniformed, 
clothed  and  equipped  at  the  expense  of  the  State,  amount- 
ing to  $177,000.  On  the  28th  of  June  they  were  sent  to 
Washington. 

On  the  3d  of  August  a  requisition  was  made  by  the 
President  on  this  State  for  five  regiments  of  infantry  and 
one  company  of  artillery,  and  on  the  Sth  of  September 
another  company  of  artillery  and  a  regiment  of  riflemen 
or  sharpshooters,  of  twelve  companies,  were  added  to  the 
requisition.  These  regiments  and  companies  were  at 
once  raised. 

A  regiment  of  cavalry  was  also  recruited  in  twenty 
■days,  under  authority  of  the  President,  by  Hon.  William 
Halstead,  of  Trenton,  then  seventy  years  of  age.  These 
regiments  and  companies  were  also  furnished  with  equip- 
ments by  the  State,  and  they  were  organized  and 
equipped  at  an  expense  of  $557,000.  Another  regiment, 
the  loth,  was  recruited  by  authority  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment without  authority  from  the  State,  but  was  afterward 
credited  on  the  quota  of  New  Jersey. 

Under  the  call  of  July  7th  1862  for  300,000  volunteers 
the  quota  of  New  Jersey  was  five  regiments.  Of  these 
four  were  mustered  into  service  before  the  end  of  August, 
and  one  on  the  6th  of  September. 

August  4th  1862  an  enrollment  and  a  daft  of  300,000 
militia  were  ordered  by  the  President.  On  the  3d  of 
September,  the  day  fixed  for  the  draft,  there  were  in 
camp  in  this  State  236  men  more  than  the  number  called 
for.  Although  the  men  of  these  nine  months'  regiments 
were  transferred  almost  at  once  from  civil  life  to  active 
military  service  they  discharged  their  duties  efficiently. 

Under  the  conscription  act  of  1863  the  quota  for  New 
Jersey  was  fixed  at  8,783.  Six  places  of  rendezvous 
were  established  on  the  3d  of  August,  all  of  which  were 
closed  within  about  two  months.  Ten  companies  of 
thirty-day  men  also  were  mustered  for  service  in  Penn- 
sylvania during  1863. 

Under  the  call  of  May  i6th  1864  for  "  hundred-day 
men  "  a  regiment  was  organized,  and  it  served  till  Oc- 
tober of  that  year. 

Under  the  call  of  July  i8th  1864  for  500,000  troops 
the  quota  of  New  Jersey  was  15,891. 

During  the  war  New  Jersey  sent  to  the  field  forty  regi- 
ments and  five  batteries.  Her  total  number  of  men  liable 
to  military  duty  was  98,806.     Of  these  78,248. men  were 


called  for  by  the  government,  and  88,305  were  furnished, 
of  whom  79,348  were  credited  to  the  State  and  8,957 
served  in  regiments  of  other  States.  The  surplus  over 
all  calls  was  10,057.  The  expenditures  made  by  New 
Jersey  in  supplying  troops  during  the  war  amounted  to 
$2,894,384.99. 

The  historian  Raum  says:  "  During  the  entire  war 
New  Jersey  had  ample  reason  to  be  proud  of  her  citizen 
soldiery,  for  on  every  battle  field  that  their  services  were 
called  into  requisition  they  acquitted  themselves  nobly, 
and  ably  sustained  the  reputation  of  Jersey  Blues." 


CHAPTER  V. 


EDUCATIONAL,    GOVERNMENTAL    AND  BENEVOLENT    INSTI- 
TUTIONS  THE     STATE    ADMINISTRATION. 


LTHOUGH  from  the  well  known  character  of 
the  Dutch  and  Swedes  who  first  settled  New 
Jersey  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  they 
had  schools  as  soon  as  there  were  among 
them  a  sufficient  number  of  children,  no 
record  of  the  fact  remains. 
The  English  immigrants  in  East  Jersey  estab- 
lished schools  in  connection  with,  their  churches.  The 
Quakers  who  settled  West  Jersey  were  exceedingly  care- 
ful to  educate  their  children,  and  the  first  school  fund  in 
the  province  was  derived  from  the  rent  or  sale  of  lands 
on  an  island  in  the  Delaware  opposite  Burlington  set 
apart  for  that  purpose. 

Action  in  Newark  concerning  schools  was  first  taken 
in  1676,  and  in  1693  the  General  Assembly  of  East  Jersey 
authorized  the  election  of  school  commissioners  in  the 
towns  and  recognized  the  principle  of  taxation  for  the 
support  of  schools. 

,A  school  fund  of  $15,000  was  created  by  an  act  of  the 
Legislature  in  1816,  and  this  was  increased  the  next  year. 
In  1818  the  amount  was  increased  to  $r  13,238.78.  In 
1820  the  inhabitants  of  townships  were  authorized  to 
raise  money  by  taxation  for  educational  purposes,  and  in 
1828  to  raise  funds  in  the  same  manner  for  the  erection 
of  school-houses. 

In  1824  the  Legislature  enacted  that  the  school  fund 
should  be  increased  by  the  addition  to  it  each  year  of 
one  tenth  of  all  the  State  taxes. 

In  1829  a  school  system  was  established,  and  in  that 
year  an  appropriation  of  $20,000  was  made  for  school 
purposes.  This  was  followed  by  appropriations  in  sub- 
sequent years.  In  1838  the  school  system  was  remodeled 
and  the  annual  appropriation  increased  to. $30,000.  The 
constitution  of  1844  prohibited  the  diversion  of  the 
school  fund  to  any  other  purpose  than  the  support  of 
schools.  An  act  of  the  Legislature  in  1846  provided  for 
the  appointment  of  a  State  superintendent  of  public 
schools  and  for  the  election  of  township  superintendents. 
It  also  modified  the  school  system. 


14 


OUTLINE  HISTORY  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  annual  appropriation  was  increased  to  $40,000  in 
185 1  and  to  $80,000  in  1858.  Teachers'  institutes  were 
established  by  law  in  1854.  The  State  normal  school 
was  established  in  1855,  at  Trenton,  and  the  Farnum 
preparatory  school  at  Beverly  was  founded  in  1856,  by 
Paul  Farnum,  who  donated  $70,000  for  that  purpose. 

The  State  Board  of  Education  was  constituted  in  1866 
and  in  1867  was  revised,  remodeled  and  greatly  inl- 
proved. 

Of  the  higher  institutions  of  learning  in  this  State  its 
citizens  are  justly  proud.  In  1756  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  which  had  been  incorporated  m  1746,  was  per- 
manently established  at  Princeton.  A  theological  sem- 
inary was  also  founded  at  Princeton,  by  the  Presbyterian 
denomination,  in  181 1. 

The  Queen's  College  was  established  at  New  Bruns- 
wick in  1770,  under  a  charge  from  King  George  III.  of 
England.  In  honor  of  Henry  Rutgers  its  name  was 
changed  by  act  of  the  Legislature  to  Rutgers  College. 
The  Reformed  Dutch  Church  founded  a  theological 
school  at  New  Brunswick  in  1771. 

Burlington  College,  at  Burlington,  was  chartered  in 
1846.  It  is  under  the  management  of  the  Episcopalians. 
Seton  Hall  College,  founded  at  Madison  in  1856  and 
removed  to  South  Orange  in  i860,  was  chartered  in  1861. 
It  is  a  Roman  Catholic  institution.  An  ecclesiastical 
seminary  is  connected  with  it. 

In  addition  to  these  there  are  many  academies,  theo- 
logical, commercial  and  special  institutions. located  in  dif- 
ferent portions  of  the  State,  the  character  of  which  will 
not  suffer  by  comparison  with  those  of  any  other  part  of 
the  country.  There  is  probably  no  State  in  the  Union 
which  in  proportion  to  its  size  affords  educational  facil- 
ities equal  to  those  of  New  Jersey. 

Previous  to  1798  there  was  in  this  State  no  place  of 
confinement  for  criminals  except  the  county  jails.  In  that 
year  a  prison  was  erected  at  Lamberton,  at  an  expense 
^^9,852.  In  1820  it  was  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  a 
wing.  In  1838  a  new  prison  was  completed,  at  a  total 
cost  of  about  $180,000.  Acts  for  the  enlargement  of  this 
prison  were  passed  in  1847,  i860,  1868  and  1877,  and  the 
entire  cost  up  to  that  time  was  about  $500,000. 

In  1837  an  act  was  passed  making  the  old  State  prison 
a  public  arsenal.  The  building  has  been  from  time  to 
time  repaired  and  refitted,  under  authority  of  acts  of  the 
Legislature. 

In  1791  the  seat  of  government  was  fixed  at  Trenton, 
and  in  1792  a  State-house  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of  about 
;^4,ooo.  The  building  was  repaired  in  1799,  1801,  1806, 
1845  and  1850.  Additions  were  made  in  1863-65, 
1871-73  and  1875. 

The  first  action  for  the  regulation  of  the  State  library 
was  taken  in  1804,  when  168  volumes  had  accumulated. 
From  this  humble  beginning  the  present  State  library 
has  grown. 

The  first  effective  movement  toward  the  erection  of  an 
asylum  for  the  insane  was  made  in  1844,  when  a  com- 
mission for  the  selection  of  a  site  was  appointed  by  the 
Legislature.    "  A  site  was  selected  about  two  miles  from 


Trenton.  A  building  was  erected  within  a  few  years, 
and  additions  have  from  time  to  time  been  made  to  it  as 
necessity  has  required. 

In  1868  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  appointment 
of  a  commission  to  select  a  site  for  an  additioual  lunatic 
asylum  and  to  commence  its  erection.  A  site  was  selected 
three  miles  from  Morristown,  and  430  acres  of  land  were 
purchased.  An  extensive  building  was  erected,  at  a 
cost,  including  land,  furniture,  etc.,  of  $2,250,000,  and  in 
1876  292  patients  were  removed  to  it  from  the  Trenton 
asylum. 

A  solciers'  children's  home  was  incorporated  in  1865, 
and  in  1866  it  became  a  State  institution.  It  was  closed 
in  1876,  the  State  having  expended  on  it  more  than 
$346,000. 

An  act  for  the  establishment  of  the  "  New  Jersey  Sol- 
diers'Home  "  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  in  1865, 
and  a  building  in  the  city  of  Newark  was  completed  in 
1866,  at  a  total  cost  of  more  than  $32,000.  It  has  been 
supported  by  annual  State  appropriations. 

By  an  act  of  the  Legislature  in  1865  a  reform  farm 
school  for  boys  was  established.  The  farm  is  near  James- 
burg,  Middlesex  county,  and  includes  nearly  five  hundred 
acres. 

A  State  industrial  school  for  girls  was  established  in 
187 1,  and  a  farm  of  about  80  acres  in  the  township  of 
Ewing,  near  Trenton,  was  purchased  in  1872. 

In  1854,  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  a  geological  sur- 
vey of  the  State  was  authorized,  and  since  that  year 
annual  appropriations  have  been  made  for  the  prosecution 
of  the  work.  This  survey  has  not  only  added  valuable 
contributions  to  geological  science,  but  has  aided  ma- 
terially in  the  development  of  the  mineral  and  agricultural 
resources  of  the  State. 

The  New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  which  was  organ- 
ized in  1845,  was  incorporated  in  1846.  It  has  its  library 
and  collections  at  Newark. 

The  constitution  of  New  Jersey  which  was  adopted 
July  2nd  1776  continued  to  be  the  fundamental  law  of  the 
State  till  1844,  when  a  convention  of  delegates  assembled 
on  the  14th  of  May  to  frame  a  new  constitution.  They 
concluded  their  labors  on  the  29th  of  June.  The  con- 
stitution which  they  formed  was  submitted  to  the  people 
on  the  second  Tuesday  in  the  following  August,  and 
adopted  by  a  large  majority.  A  more  complete  sep- 
aration of  the  different  departments  of  government 
and  an  extension  of  political  and  civil  privileges 
were  the  notable  changes  which  were  made  from  the 
former  constitution.  No  further  change  was  made  till 
1873,  when  the  wants  of  the  Slate  seemed  to  require 
further  modifications  of  its  fundamental  law,  and  a  com- 
mission was  appointed  by  authority  of  the  Legislature  to 
propose  amendments  to  the  constitution.  Twenty-eight 
amendments  were  proposed,  and  they  were  submitted  to 
the  people  at  a  special  election  September  7th  1875,  and 
all  were  adopted.  Although  no  radical  change  was  made 
by  these  amendments  many  provisions  were  introduced  in 
keeping  with  the  progress  of  the  age,  among  which  were 
the  elimination  of  the  word  "  white  "  from  the  constitu- 


GOVERNORS  OF  NEW  JERSEY— INDUSTRIES. 


15 


tion  and  the  substitution  of  the  word  "free  "  for  "  public" 
in  the  paragraph  relating  to  schools. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  governors  of  New  Jersey 
under  the  different  regimes,  with  the  year  of  their  ap- 
pointment or  election: 

Previous  to  the  division  of  the  province:  Carstiansen, 
1614;  Peter  Minuit,  1624;  Wouter  Van  Twiller,  1633; 
William  Kieft,  1638;  John  Printz,  1642;  Peter  Stuy- 
vesant,  1646;  Philip  Carteret  (English)  1664;  Edmund 
Andross,  1674. 

After  the  division:  East  Jersey — Philip  Carteret,  1676; 
Robert  Barclay,  1682;  Thomas  Rudyard,  1682;  Gawen 
Lawrie,  1683;  Lord  Neil  Campbell,  1686;  Andrew  Ham- 
ilton, 1687;  Edmund  Andross,  1688;  John  Tatham,  1690; 
Joseph  Dudley,  1691;  Andrew  Hamilton,  1692;  Jeremiah 
Basse,  1698;  Andrew  Bowne,  1699;  Andrew  Hamilton, 
1699;  West  y^rj-ify^Commissioners,  1676;  Edward  Byl- 
linge,  1679;  Samuel  Jennings,  1679;  Thomas  Olive,  1684; 
John  Skene,  1685;  Daniel  Coxe,  1687;  Edward  Hun- 
loke,  1690;  Society  of  Proprietors,  1691;  Andrew  Hamil- 
ton, 1692;  Jeremiah  Basse,  1697;  Andrew  Hamilton, 
1690, 

Province  of  New  Jersey  under  the  English  govern- 
ment: Lord  Cornbury,  1702;  Lord  Lovelace,  1708;  Rich- 
ard Ingoldsby,  1709;  Robert  Hunter,  1710;  William 
Burnet,  1720;  John  Montgomerie,  1728;  Lewis  Morris, 
1731;  William  Cosby,  1732;  John  Anderson,  1736;  John 
Hamilton,  1736;  Lewis  Morris,  1738;  John  Hamilton, 
1746;  John  Reading,  1746;  Jonathan  Belcher,  1747;  John 
Reading,  1757;  Francis  Bernard,  1758;  Thomas  Boone, 
1760;  Josiah  Hardy,  1761;  William  T.  Franklin,  1763. 

Governors  of  the  State:  William  Livingston,  1776; 
William  Paterson,  1791;  Richard  Howell,  1794;  Joseph 
Bloomfield,  1801;  John  Lambert,  1802;  Joseph  Bloom- 
field,  1803;  Aaron  Ogden,  1812;  William  S.  Pennington, 
1813;  Mahlon  Dickerson,  18 [5;  Isaac  H.  Williamson, 
1817;  Peter  D.  Vroom  jr.,  1829;  Elias  P.  Seeley,  1832; 
Peter  D.  Vroom,  1833;  Philemon  Dickerson,  1836;  Wil- 
liam Pennington,  1837;  Daniel  Haines,  1843;  Charles  C. 
Stratton,  1844;  Daniel  Haines,  1848;  George  F.  Fort, 
1851;  Rodman  M.  Price,  1854;  William  A.  Newell,  1857; 
Charles  S  Olden,  i860;  Joel  Parker,  1863;  Marcus  L. 
Ward,  1866;  Theodore  F.  Randolph,  1869;  Joel  Parker, 
1872;  Joseph  D.  Bedle,  1875;  George  B.  McClellan, 
1878;  George  C.  Ludlow,  1881. 


CHAPTER  VL 


MINERAL    RESOURCES — INDUSTRIES — CANALS    AND     RAIL- 
ROADS— POPULATION. 


'EW  JERSEY  is  rich  in  mineral  deposits. 
Among  the  best  mines  of  zinc  in  the  United 
States  are  those  of  Sussex  county,  which  have 
been  long  and  extensively  worked.  Copper 
is  also  found  in  several  places.  As  early  as 
[719  a  mine  was  discovered  in  Morris  county 
lat  had  evidently  been  worked  by  the  early 
Dutch  settlers.  Iron  is  the  most  important  mineral  in 
the  State.  It  is  found  in  the  counties  of  Morris,  Sussex, 
Warren,  Passaic,  Hunterdon  and  elsewhere.  In  Morris 
county  mines  were  worked  as  early  as   1685,  and  there 


are  mines  in  the  State  that  have  been  worked  for  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half  and  that  still  are  productive.  A  smaller 
proportion  of  the  ore  mined  in  this  State  is  smelted  here 
than  formerly.  As  facilities  for  transportation  have  in- 
creased larger  and  larger  quantities  have  been  taken  away, 
especially  to  the  coal  producing  regions.  Many  hundred 
thousand  tons  are  annually  produced.  In  Monmouth 
county  there  was  a  smelting  furnace  and  forge  as  early  as 
1682,  and  what  was  then  a  large  business  was  carried  on. 
Space  will  not  permit  an  account  in  detail  of  the  mines 
that  have  been  worked  or  of  the  furnaces  and  mills  that 
have  been  established  in  the  State.  The  value  of  the  ore 
mined  and  of  the  iron  produced  amounts  to  many  millions 
of  dollars  annually. 

The  surroundings  of  New  Jersey  have  greatly  influenced 
the  character  of  its  industries,  as  in  the  case  of  other 
regions.  In  early  times  its  agriculture  was  similar  to  that 
of  the  first  settlements  elsewhere;  but  as  time  went  on, 
and  the  cities  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  increased 
in  size  and  the  facilities  for  transportation  to  these  cities 
became  greater,  the  productions  of  the  soil  were  gradu- 
ally changed  to  meet  the  demands  in  these  cities,  till 
New  Jersey  has  come  to  be  not  inappropriately  termed 
the  "  market  garden  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia." 
The  cultivation  of  small  fruits  has  within  a  comparatively 
recent  period  become  an  important  industry  in  many  lo- 
calities, and  the  sterile  soil  in  some  of  the  lower  counties 
has  been  made  productive  by  the  use  of  fertilizers,  par- 
ticularly of  the  marl  which  abounds  along  the  coast. 

At  an  early  period  only  such  manufactures  were  en- 
gaged in  as  were  necessary  to  supply  the  wants  of  the 
settlers.  Saw-mills,  grist-mills  and  clothieries  of  course 
sprang  up  in  all  settled  parts  of  the  State.  The  excel- 
lent water  power  furnished  by  the  streams,  the  natural 
facilities  for  transportation  existing  here,  and  the  exist- 
ence of  an  abundance  of  raw  material  led  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  different  kinds  of  manufactories  in  various 
localities  before  the  commencement  of  the  present  cen- 
tury. 

The  introduction  of  steam  as  a  motor,  and  the  increase 
of  facilities  for  bringing  hither  material  and  carrying 
away  manufactured  products,  led  to  the  establishment  of 
other  branches  of  manufactures  and  the  extension  of 
those  already  existing;  and  as  time  went  on  and  the 
population  of  the  State  increased  manufacturing  inter- 
ests assumed  a  constantly  increasing  importance,  till 
New  Jersey  has  become  one  of  the  most  important 
manufacturing  States  in  the  Union.  It  may  reasonably 
be  predicted  that,  with  the  advantages  of  location  and 
facilities  for  transportation  possessed  by  New  Jersey,  it 
will  maintaifi  its  position  in  the  front  rank  among  manu- 
facturing States. 

Of  the  many  canals  which  have  been  chartered  by 
the  State  the  principal  were  the  Morris  and  the 
Delaware  and  Raritan.  The  former  was  chartered  in 
1824  and  was  completed  between  Phillipsburg  and  Jer- 
sey City  in  1836,  connecting  the  waters  of  the  Hudson 
and  Delaware  rivers.  The  Delaware  and  Raritan  was 
finally  chartered  in    1830,  and  the  canal  was  completed 


i6 


OUTLINE  HISTORY  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 


between  Bordentown,  on  the  Delaware,  and  New  Bruns- 
wick, on  the  Raritan,  in  1834. 

As  early  as  181,5  ^  railroad,  either  of  wood  or  iron," 
was  chartered  from  the  Delaware  river  near  Trenton  to 
the  Raritan  near  New  Brunswick.  This  was  the  first  rail- 
road chartered  in  America.     It  was  never  built. 

The  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  Company  was  char- 
tered in  1830,  and  in  1831  was  consolidated  with  the 
Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal  Company.  The  first  train 
of  cats  passed  over  its  entire  length  in  1833. 

By  reason  of  the  proximity  of  New  Jersey  to  the  great 
commercial  metropolis  of  the  country  the  railroad  system 
of  the  State  has  grown  to  far  greater  proportions  than 
that  of  many  States.  There  are  now  within  its  limits 
nearly  two  thousand  miles  of  railroad. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  city  of  New  York  has  come  to 
exert  a  potent  influence  on  the  portions  of  New  Jersey 
contiguous  thereto.  The  numerous  lines  of  railroad  thai 
diverge  from  points  on  the  Hudson  river  opposite  to  that 
city  afford  to  people  engaged  in  business  there  such 
facilities  for  quick  transit  that  thousands  of  such  have 
their  residences  along  these  avenues  of   travel,  and  pass 


daily  to  and  from  the  city.  It  is  not  extravagance  to 
look  forward  to  a  time  when  the  entire  region  for  many 
miles  from  New  York  will  become  practically  a  part  of 
that  city. 

Seaside  summer  resorts  have  sprung  up  at  various 
points  along  the  coast,  and  these  too  are  annually  in- 
creasing in  number  and  importance.  Anticipations  which 
may  at  first  be  considered  wild  can  also  reasonably  be 
entertained  concerning  these. 

The  population  of  the  State  by  counties  in  1880  was 
as  follows: 


Atlantic 18,706 

Bergen 36,79c 

Burlington S5.403 

.Camden 62,941 

Cape  May 9,765 

Cumberland 37)694 

Essex 189,81.9 

Gloucester 25,886 

Hudson 1 87,950 

Hunterdon 38,568 

Mercer 58,058 


Middlesex 52,286 

Monmouth 5S>S3S 

Morris 50,867 

Ocean 14.455 

Passaic 68,716 

Salem 24,580 

Somerset 27,161 

Sussex 23,553 

Union 55,57i 

Warren 36,588 

Total 1,130,892 


HISTORY  OF 


MORRIS  COUNTY 


By  Hon.  Edmund  D.  Halsey. 


CHAPTER   I. 


THE    INDIANS   IN    POSSESSION — EARLY  BOUNDARY   LINES — 
THE    FIRST    SETTLEMENTS. 


EFORE  the  year  1700  the  territory  now  called 
Morris  county  was  probably  in  the  undis- 
turbed possession  of  the  Indians.  During 
the  times  of  the  Dutch  supremacy  in  New 
York  people  of  that  nationality  had  settled 
upon  the  flat  lands  bordering  on  the  Hudson 
and  spread  themselves  northward  into  the  coun- 
ty of  Bergen.  After  1664  the  English  from  Long  Island 
and  New  England,  by  way  of  Elizabethtown  and  Milford, 
as  Newark  was  then  called,  began  to  dispute  with  the 
Hollanders  the  settlement  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  State. 
The  English,  Quakers,  Swedes  and  Dutch  had  become 
established  upon  the  Delaware  and  were  commencing  to 
look  inland;  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  an  actual  set- 
tler had  as  yet  disturbed  the  aborigines  in  their  posses- 
sion of  the  unbroken  wilderness  which  extended  from 
Orange  Mountain  to  the  "  Great  Pond."  So  distinct 
were  the  settlements  upon  the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware 
that  their  separation  into  East  and  West  Jersey,  so  sin- 
gular to  us  now,  was  a  natural  one.  The  line  between  the 
two  divisions,  described  as  a  "  streight  lyne  from  the  said 
Creeke  called  Barnegat  to  a  certaine  Creeke  in  Delaware 
River  next  adjoyneing  to  and  below  a  certaine  Creeke 
in  Delaware  River  called  Rankokus  Kill,  and  from 
thence  up  the  said  Delaware  to  ye  northermost 
branch  thereof,  which  is  in  fforty-one  degrees  and 
fforty  minutes  of  Latitude,"  was  a  fruitful  source  of 
dispute.  In  1687  Keith,  the  surveyor-general  of 
East  Jersey,  ran  this  line  from  Little  Egg  Harbor 
as  far  as  the  south  branch  of  the  Raritan,  but  it 
was  deemed  by  the  West  Jersey  proprietors  too  far  west, 
and  they  objected  to  its  continuance  any  farther.  On 
September  5th  1688  Governors  Coxe  and  Barclay,  repre- 


senting the  opposite  sides,  stipulated  that  the  line  should 
be  extended  to  the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan,  near 
Lamington  Falls;  thence  up  the  river  to  its  rise  on  Suc- 
casunna  Plains,  and  from  there  to  the  "  nearest  part  of 
Passaic  River;"  thence  up  the  Passaic  and  Pequannock  to 
the  41st  degree  north  latitude,  and  thence  due  east  to  the 
partition  point  on  the  Hudson  River  between  New  Jersey 
and  New  York.  This  line  passed  about  five  miles  north 
of  Morristown,  and  seemed  to  be  regarded  as  the  division 
line,  but  not  invariably  or  for  any  length  of  time.  The 
line  run  by  John  Lawrence  in  1743,  which  passes 
through  Budd's  Lake  (the  "  ninety-three  mile  tree " 
standing  just  north  of  the  lake),  was  finally  settted  upon 
as  the  true  one;  but  until  after  the  Revolution  the  pro- 
prietors of  West  Jersey  claimed  to  the  compromise  line  of 
Coxe  and  Barclay,  or  to  a  line  running  from  Barnega:t 
Inlet  to  Port  Jervis,  and  the  proprietors  of  East  Jersey 
claimed  to  the  line  of  Keith,  continued  to  the  Delaware. 

John  Barclay,  Arthur  Forbes  and  Gawen  Lawrie,  writ- 
ing to  the  Scots  proprietors  March  29th  1684,  say  :  "We 
cannot  positively  answer,  to  give  an  account  of  the  whole 
length  and  breadth  of  the  province.  But  we  are  informed 
that  it  is  a  great  deal  broader  than  ye  expected,  for  those 
who  have  traveled  from  the  extent  of  our  bounds  on 
Hudson  River  straight  over  to  the  Delaware  River  say  it  is 
100  miles  or  upwards.  We  shall  know  that  certainly  after 
a  while,  for  the  line  betwixt  us  and  New  York  is  to  be 
run  straight  over  to  Delaware  River,  about  three  weeks 
hence,  and  after  that  the  line  betwixt  us  and  West  Jer- 
sey; after  which  we  shall  be  able  to  give  a  true  account 
of  the  bounds  of  that  province.  *  *  *  There  are 
also  hills  up  in  the  country,  but  how  much  ground  they 
take  up  we  know  not;  they  are  said  to  be  stony,  and  cov- 
ered with  wood,  and  beyond  them  is  said  to  be  excellent 
land."  Endeavoring  to  give  as  flattering  an  account  as 
they  could  of  the  settlements  in  the  province  and  their 
extent,  in  their  reports  to  their  friends  in  the  old  country, 
no  mention  is  made  of  any  nearer  Morris  county  than 
Newark. 

As  late  as  January  21st'  1707  the  Legislature  passed 


i8 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


an  act  defining  the  boundaries  of  the  then  nine  counties 
of  the  State,  and  exhibited  an  ignorance  of  the  geography 
of  the  upper  portion  of  the  State  only  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  that  region  was  uninhabited  except  by 
Indians  and  wandering  hunters.  The  bounds  of  Essex 
county  ran  up  the  "Rahway  River  to  Robeson's  branch; 
thence  west  to  the  division  hne  between  the  Eastern  and 
Western  division  aforesaid,  and  so  to  follow  the  said  di- 
vision line  to  Pequaneck  River,  where  it  meets  Passaick 
River;  thence  down  Passaick  River  to  the  bay  and  sound." 
The  lines  of  Burlington  county  followed  the  same  par- 
tition line  "  to  the  northernmost  and  uttermost  bounds 
of  the  township  of  Am  well;  thence  by  the  same  to  the 
River  Delaware;"  thence  down  the  Delaware  to  the  place 
of  beginning.  This  arrangement  placed  part  of  Morris 
county  in  Essex  and  part  in  Burlington.  The  division 
line  referred  to  was  evidently  the  Coxe  and  Barclay  line, 
as  Keith's  division  line  of  1687  or  its  continuation  did 
not  run  within  miles  of  the  Pequannock  or  any  of  its  trib- 
utaries. Lawrence's  line,  still  farther  to  the  east,  inter- 
sected only  the  head  waters  of  the  Walkill. 

March  tith  1713-14  all  the  upper  part  "of  the  said 
Western  Division  of  the  province  of  New  Jersey  lying 
northward  of,  or  situate  above,  the  brook  or  rivulet  com- 
monly called  Assanpink"  was  created  a  county,  to  be 
called  Hunterdon. 

The  Indians  who  inhabited  northern  New  Jersey  at  the 
time  of  the  first  settlement  by  the  whites  were  the  Lenapes 
or  Delawares,  who  are  treated  of  on  page  7.  The  Minsi 
tribe,  called  by  the  English  Muncys,  extended  from  the 
Minisink,  on  the  Delaware,  where  they  held  their  council 
seat,  to  the  Hudson  on  the  east,  to  the  head  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna and  Delaware  rivers  on  the  north,  and  on  the 
south  to  the  Musconetcong  and  Lehigh  hills.  Tribes  of 
the  Iroquois  or  Mengwe  also  roamed  through  the  country 
at  will.  The  different  tribes  of  these  Indians  were  often 
called  by  the  whites  after  the  Indian  names  of  the  rivers 
along  which  they  dwelt.  Hence  we  have  the  Whip- 
panongs,  the  Pomptons,  the  Rockawacks,  the  Parsippa- 
nongs,  the  Minisinks,  the  Musconetcongs.  A  very  favor- 
ite place  with  these  aboriginal  tribes  was  the  Great 
Pond,  now  called  Lake  Hopatcong;  and  the  traces  of 
their  sojourn  there  are  treated  of  in  the  history  of  Jeffer- 
son township. 

The  Indians  who  inhabited  this  region  appear  to  have 
been  very  peaceably  disposed,  as  there  are  no  records  or 
traditions  of  any  fights  or  massacres  with  or  by  them,  and 
no  settler  appears  to  have  been  disturbed  by  them.  The 
scene  of  Tom  Quick's  wonderful  adventures  is  laid  far- 
ther west  and  north,  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Delaware. 
The  aborigines  lingered  in  the  neighborhood  until  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  they  seem  to  have 
finally  disappeared  from  the  coi^nty,  but  not  from  the 
State.  As  late  as  1832  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the 
purchase,  from  the  Delaware  Indians  who  had  removed 
from  this  State  to  Michigan,  of  all  their  rights  in  all  the 
territory  of  New  Jersey.  The  Indian  paths  from  one 
lake  to  another  or  from  the  seashore  westward  were  the 
first  roads  of  the  county,  and  are  often  referred  to  in  old 


deeds  and  land  titles.  The  Pequannock  valley  was  one 
of  their  traveling  routes,  as  there  was  a  path,  called  the 
Minisink  path,  running  through  "the  Notch,"  crossing 
the  Passaic  at  Little  Falls,  thence  passing  along  the  foot 
of  the  hills  to  Pompton  and  so  up  the  Pequannock  river 
toward  the  Delaware. 

The  first  actual  settlement  by  the  whites  was  probably 
in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county,  near  Pompton 
Plains.  On  the  6th  of  June  1695  Arent  Schuyler,  in  be- 
half of  himself  and  his  associates.  Major  Anthony  Brock- 
hoist,  Samuel  Byard,  George  Ryerson,  John  Mead,  Sam- 
uel Berrie,  David  Mandeville,  and  Hendrick  Mandeville, 
purchased  from  the  Indians  all  the  territory  lying  between 
the  Passaic  on  the  south,  the  Pompton  on  the  north,  and 
between  the  foot  of  the  hills  on  the  east  and  on  the  west; 
and  in  November  of  that  year  purchased  5,500  acres  ly- 
ing east  of  the  Pequannock  river,  of  the  proprietors 
of  East  New  Jersey.  The  next  year  Schuyler,  Brock- 
hoist  and  Byard  purchased  a  tract  of  1,500  acres  or  there- 
abouts, and  other  lands,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
including  all  the  present  Pompton  Plains.  The  houses 
of  these  men,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  were  built 
upon  their  first  purchase,  east  of  the  river;  but  it  is  alto- 
gether probable  that  in  1700  settlers  had  begun  to  make 
improvements  on  the  purchase  of  1696  in  Morris  county. 
If  this  be  the  case  the  honor  of  the  first  settlement  of  the 
county  is  due  to  the  Dutch. 

Following  closely  upon  the  heels  of  the  Pompton 
Plains  settlers  the  New  Englanders,  who  had  located 
along  the  Passaic,  extended  their  boundaries  to  the  west 
and  entered  Morris  county  by  way  of  Caldwell  and  I^iv- 
ingston.  Passing  the  extensive  Troy  meadows,  then  no 
doubt  a  dense  swamp  covered  with  a  growth  of  original 
forest  timber,  they  were  attracted  by  the  high  lands  of 
Hanover  and  Whippany.  In  the  "History  of  the  Han- 
over Presbyterian  Church,"  written  by  the  Rev.  Jacob 
Green  in  1767,  when  there  were  many  alive  who  were  eye 
witnesses  of  the  events  he  recorded,  it  is  stated  that 
"  about  the  year  17 10  a  few  families  removed  from  New- 
ark and  Elizabeth,  etc.,  and  settled  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Passaic  river,  in  that  which  is  nov/  Morris  county. 
Not  long  after  the  settlers  erected  a  house  for  the  public 
worship  of  God  on  the  bank  of  the  Whippanong  river, 
about  one  hundred  rods  below  the  forge  which  is  and  has 
long  been  known  by  the  name  of  the  Old  Iron  Works." 
This  fact  indicates  the  character  of  the.se  first  settlers, 
and  that  they  had  not  forgotten  the  cause  which  brought 
them  or  their  fathers  over  the  water.  September  2nd 
1718  a  deed  was  made  for  this  church  lot  by  "John 
Richards,  of  Whippanong,  in  the  county  of  Hunterdon, 
schoolmaster."  The  land  is  said  to  be  situated  in  the 
"  township  of  Whippanong,  on  that  part  called  Percip- 
ponong,  on  the  northwestward  side  of  Whippanong 
river  ";  and  the  land  was  to  be  for  "public  use,  improve- 
ment and  benefit  for  a  meeting-house,  burying  yard  and 
training  field  and  such  like  uses,  and  no  other." 

In  the  records  of  Hunterdon  county  no  mention  is 
made  of  any  township  but  Hanover  within  the  present 
bounds  of  Morris  county;  and  it  is  to  be  presumed  that 


THE  PIONEERS. 


19 


the  settlement  of  Hanover  gave  name  to  the  whole  region, 
and  that  the  county  was  comprised  in  one  township, 
whose  western  boundaries  were  of  the  most  vague' 
description.  From  Hanover  or  Whippany  the  settlers 
moved  westward  to  Morristown,  called  at  first  New  Han- 
over. 

Passing  up  the  Basking  Ridge  neighborhood,  which 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  occupied  by  actual  settlers 
before  about  1720,  we  come  to  the  high  lands  of  the 
southwest  part  of  the  county,  which  were  peopled  from 
the  west.  The  renunciation  of  Protestantism  in  1697  by 
Frederick  Augustus,  elector  of  Saxony,  made  it  so  un- 
comfortable at  home  for  many  of  his  subjects  that  in 
1705  they  determined  to  leave  their  country.  They 
went  first  to  Neuwied,  in  Prussia,  then  to  Holland,  and 
in  1707  sailed  for  America,  expecting  to  join  the  Dutch 
in  New  York.  Carried  south  by  adverse  winds  they 
entered  the  Delaware  instead  of  the  Hudson,  and  landed 
in  Philadelphia.  Determined  still  to  join  the  Dutch 
settlements  in  New  York  they  crossed  the  Delaware  near 
Lambertville,  and  commenced  their  march  across  the 
State.  But  when  they  arrived  at  German  Valley,  and 
saw  the  goodness  of  the  land  and  the  beauty  of  its  sur- 
rounding hills,  they  abandoned  their  original  purpose  and 
began  to  make  a  home  for  themselves  where  their  de- 
scendants still  live. 

In  1 7 13  James  Wills,  an  Englishman,  bought  of  the 
proprietors  of  East  Jersey  a  large  tract  of  land  of  what  is 
now  called  Ralstonville,  west  of  Mendham,  and  the 
actual  settlement  of  the  Mendham  neighborhood  proba- 
bly soon  followed.  In  the  same  year  the  site  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Chester  is  said  to  have  been  laid  out  in  lots  for 
settlement. 

Thus  from  opposite  sides,  under  different  auspices  and 
by  men  of  different  nationalities,  the  work  of  subduing 
the  wilderness  was  begun.  The  energy  and  perseverance 
of  these  first  settlers  made  rapid  progress  in  the  work  of 
clearing  up  the  forests,  and  bringing  the  soil  under  cul- 
tivation and  developing  the  wealth  of  the  country. 
These  pioneers  kept  pressing  forward  until  within  a  few 
years  they  met  in  the  center  of  the  county,  and  what  had 
been  in  1707  almost  an  unknown  country  had  become  in 
1725  explored  and  dotted  with  hamlets.  The  roads 
were  still  but  bridle-paths  and  the  houses  were  of  logs; 
but  the  wants  of  the  people  were  few  and  easily  supplied. 
The  streams  were  stocked  with  fish,  and  game  of  every 
kind  was  abundant.  The  first  colonists  in  Morris  had 
neither  the  sterile  soil  nor  the  cold  climate  of  New  Eng- 
land nor  the  malaria  of  the  southern  seaboard  to  contend 
with;  and  both  by  immigration  and  by  natural  increase 
the  county  grew  wonderfully  in  numbers. 

From  1710  to  1715  the  proprietors  of  West  New  Jer- 
sey, attracted  by  the  richness  of  this  new  country,  began 
to  allot  to  themselves  large  tracts  of  its  land.  William 
Penn,  John  Reading,  William  Biddle,  John  Kays  and 
otjiers  took  up  in  this  way  tracts  of  1,200  acres  and  more 
at^a  time,  on  West  Jersey  right,  as  far  east  as  Morris- 
town.  These  locations  do  not  appear  to  have  extended 
further  north  than  Budd's  Lake,  Dover  and  Rockaway 


Valley,  the  country  north  of  these  places  seeming  to 
these  early  speculators  too  forbidding  and  unpromising 
for  their  purposes.  Titles  to  lands  in  this  region  are  de- 
rived from  locations  on  East  Jersey  right,  after  the  divis- 
ion line  had  become  more  definitely  settled;  and  of  these 
locations  the  first  were  small,  covering  the  streams, 
natural  meadows  and  smooth  land.  They  were  made  by 
actual  settlers,  who  could  not  afford  to  purchase  the 
surrounding  rough  hills,  the  mineral  wealth  of  which  was 
entirely  unknown  to  them.  Timber  then  was  too  plenti- 
ful to  be  desired,  and  it  was  not  till  after  the  Revolution- 
ary war  that  the  hills  were  thought  worth  purchasing  for 
the  wood  which  covered  them. 

The  first  location  in  the  northern  part  of  Jefferson  and 
Rockaway  townships  was  to  John  Davenport,  in  1750, 
of  210  acres  near  Petersburg.  Earlier  than  this  by  five 
years  was  the  "  Nevil  tract,"  which  extended  from  Berk- 
shire Valley  only  to  Longwood  and  was  the  first  in  that 
neighborhood. 

In  1722  the  settlements  in  Morris  county  had  grown 
sufficiently  to  be  thought  worthy  of  the  honor  of  bearing 
a  part  of  the  burden  of  government,  and  in  the  minutes 
of  the  Hunterdon  county  court  of  June  sth  of  that  year 
is  this  entry:  "  Whereas  there  is  no  assessor  returned  to 
this  court  to  serve  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  township  of 
Hanover,  it  is  therefore  ordered  by  the  court  that  Elisha 
Bird  serve  assessor  for  the  said  township  of  Hanover  for 
the  ensuing  year,  to  assess  the  tax  to  be  levied  upon  the 
said  inhabitants  towards  the  support  of  his  Majestie's 
government;  and  it  is  hereby  ordered  accordingly." 

The  next  year  all  the  township  officers  were  appointed 
by  the  court,  and  we  see  among  them  names  from  all  sec- 
tions of  the  county.  John  Hayward  and  Samuel  Vander- 
book  were  to  serve  as  '"  Comishoner  of  the  Highways," 
Benjamin  Hathaway  and  Morris  Morrison  were  appointed 
constables,  and  James  Hayward,  Abraham  Vandine  and 
Benjamin  Beach  were  to  be  the  overseers  of  the  highways 
and  John  Bigelow  was  to  be  collector  for  the  township  of 
Hanover. 

At  this  same  court  it  was  ordered  that  the  commission- 
ers of  Amwell  and  Hopewell  attend  those  of  Hanover 
"  in  order  to  lay  out  a  road  from  Amwell  to  Hanover 
thorow  the  Western  Division,  betwixt  this  and  the  next 
court,  and  to  meet  at  Mr.  John  Reading's  the  first  day  of 
October  next  for  that  purpose." 

In  1724  we  find  the  names  of  Samuel  Potter,  William 
Shores  and  Abraham  Vandine  as  town  officers,  and  March 
r4th  1725  there  were  appointed  for  Hanover  as  freehold- 
ers Jonathan  Gilbert  and  Abraham  Vandine;  as  commis- 
sioners, John  Cortland  and  Thomas  Huntingdon;  as 
overseers  of  highways,  Joseph  Lindly  and  Daniel  Goble; 
as  collector  John  Lyon,  and  as  assessor  Jonathan  Gil- 
bert. 

The  earliest  town  meeting  of  which  we  have  any  ac- 
count was  that  of  March  14th  1726-7,  and  the  record 
of  it  is  as  follows:  "It  being  the  General  Town 
Meeting  appointed  by  Law  for  Electing  their  Town 
Officers,  and  the  Inhabitants  of  our  Said  County  being 
met  on  that  acct.,  proceeded  to  chose  as  follows:     John 


20 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


Morehouse  asessor  for  ye  Govener  Tax,  Joseph  Lindsley 
Collector,  Morris  Morrison  and  Joseph  Coe  Freeholders, 
Abraham  Vandine  and  Jonathan  Stiles  commissioners 
for  laying  out  roads,  Benjamin  Beach  and  Matthew  Van 
Dine,  Thomas  Huntington,  Nathaniel  Cogswell  and  John 
Courter  overseers  of  ye  H'ghway,  John  Morehouse  Town 
clerk." 

Three  years  afterward  Ephraim  Rue,  Stephen  Tuthill 
and  Paulas  Berry  were  appointed  constables. 

In  1732-3  for  the  first  time  another  township  is  men- 
tioned within  the  bounds  of  what  was  afterward  the  three 
counties  of  Morris,  Sussex  and  Warren.  At  that  date 
officers  were  nominated  for  Walpack  township.  In  Oc- 
tober 1737  among  the  associate  judges  of  Hunterdon 
county  appears  the  name  of  Abraham  Kitchel,  grand- 
father of  Aaron  and  Abraham  Kitchel,  afterward  so 
prominent  in  the  history  of  Morris  county. 

Hunterdon  county,  with  its  county  seat  at  Trenton, 
had  at  this  time  a  population  of  5,288  whites  and  219 
slaves,  and  of  the  aggregate  it  is  likely  that  one-third 
only  were  within  the  boundaries  of  the  northern  section, 
which  was  about  to  be  made  into  the  new  county.  But 
there  is  evidence  that  these  early  settlers  had  become 
dissatisfied  with  their  long  journeyings  to  the  distant 
court-house,  and  the  .subject  of  a  separation  was  being 
agitated.  Though  the  population  could  have  averaged 
hardly  two  persons  to  a  square  mile  the  measure  was 
adopted,  and  in  1738  Morris  county  obtained  a  separate 
existence. 


CHAPTER   II. 


THE    FORMATION    OF    MORRIS    COUNTY    AND    ITS   DIVISION 
INTO    TOWNSHIPS. 


HE  act  creating  the  county  of  Morris  was 
passed  by  the  Legislature  March  15th  1738- 
9.  Colonel  Lewis  Morris  was  at  the  time 
governoi-,  having  been  formally  appointed  in 
February  1738  and  publishing  his  commis- 
ion  and  taking  up  the  duties  of  the  office  August 
29th.  The  act  was  introduced  by  John  Embley, 
one  of  the  members  from  Hunterdon,  and  seems  to  have 
met  no  opposition.  Tiie  name  given  the  new  county 
was  in  honor  of  the  governor,  who  was  the  first  governor 
of  New  Jersey  distinct  from  New  York,  and  one  who 
had  been  largely  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the 
separation  from  the  sister  colony. 

The  act  declared  that  "  all  and  singular  the  lands  and 
upper  parts  of  the  said  Hunterdon  county  lying  to  the 
northward  and  eastward,  situate  and  lying  to  the  east- 
ward of  a  well  known  place  in  the  county  of  Hunterdon, 
being  a  fall  of  water  in  part  of  the  north  branch  of 
Raritan  River,  called  in  the  Indian  language  or  known  by 
the  name  of  Allamatonck,  to  the  northeastward  of  the 


northeast  end  or  part  of  the  lands  called  the  New  Jersey 
Society  lands,  along  the  line  thereof,  crossing  the  south 
branch  of  the  aforesaid  Raritan  River,  and  extending 
westerly  to  a  certain  tree,  marked  with  the  letters  L.  M., 
standing  on  the  north  side  of  a  brook  emptying  itself 
into  the  said  south  branch,  by  an  old  Indian  path  to  the 
northward  of  a  line  to  be  run  northwest  from  the  said 
tree  to  a  branch  of  Delaware  river  called  Muskonetkong, 
and  so  down  the  said  branch  to  Delaware  river,  all  which 
said  lands  being  to  the  eastward,  northward  and  north- 
eastward of  the  above  said  boundaries,  be  erected  into  a 
county;  and  is  is  hereby  erected  into  a  county,  named 
and  from  henceforth  to  be  called  Moiris  county,  and  the 
said  bounds  shall  part  and  from  henceforth  separate  and 
divide  the  same  from  the  said  Hunterdon  county." 

The  "Allamatonck  "  Falls  were  on  what  is  now  called 
the  Black  River,  which  formed  the  dividing  line  at  that 
point  between  Hunterdon  and  Somerset,  and  not  what 
is  now  called  the  north  br;inch  of  the  Raritan,  which 
crosses  the  south  line  of  Morris  where  the  townships  of 
Bedminster  and  Bernard,  of  Somerset  county,  corner. 
It  will  be  seen  that  only  a  part  of  the  southern  boundary 
of  the  new  county  was  fixed  by  this  act,  from  the  most 
southerly  point  of  what  is  now  Chester  township,  west. 
The  line  between  the  new  county  and  Somerset  remained 
uncertain  until  March  28th  1749,  when  the  division 
line  was  fixed  by  act  of  Legislature,  and  directed  to  be 
as  follows:  "Beginning  at  a  fall  of  water  commonly 
called  Allamatonck  Falls,  and  also  mentioned  in  the  be- 
fore recited  act;  and  from  thence  on  a  straight  line,  in  a 
course  east  and  by  north  as  the  compass  now  p(  ints,  to 
the  main  branch  of  Passaic  River,  and  so  down  the  said 
river  as  the  before  recited  act  directs;  anything  herein  or 
in  any  other  act  to  the  contrary  thereof  notwithstanding. 

The  territory  thus  described  and  made  a  new  county 
included  the  present  counties  of  Morris,  Sussex  and 
Warren.  It  comprised  about  870,000  acres  or  some 
1,360  square  miles.  It  was  considered  as  a  part  of  West 
Jersey,  though  two-thirds  at  least  of  it  was  east  of  Law- 
rence's line  of  1743.  In  the  letter  of  transmittal  of  the 
act  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  dated  May  26th  1739, 
Governor  Morris  says: 

"  Among  the  acts  herewith  sent  there  is  one  to  erect 
the  northern  parts  of  Hunterdon  county,  in  the  western 
division,  into  a  new  county  by  the  name  of  Morris  county. 
Their  having  of  representatives  is  suspended  till  his 
Majestie's  pleasure  is  known  on  that  head.  If  his  Majes- 
tic should  think  fit  to  grant  them  that  favour  it  will  be 
adding  two  representatives  to  the  western  division  more 
than  the  eastern  has;  but  if  his  Majestie  will  give  me 
leave  to  add  two  to  the  eastern  division,  in  such  place  or 
places  as  I  shall  judge  most  propper,  to  make  them 
equall  (as  by  his  instructions  it  seems  to  be  intended 
they  should  be),  such  is  the  scituation  of  this  new  county 
that  I  am  in  hopes  by  the  addition  of  these  four  mem- 
bers to  put  the  support  of  the  government  upon  a  better 
and  more  certain  footing  than  it  is  at  present;  &  to  get 
money  rais'd  for  the  building  a  house  and  conveniences 
of  a  governour's  residence,  sitting  of  Assemblyes  &c 
all  w'ch  are  very  much  wanting."  ' 

Notwithstanding  the  recommendation  of  Governor 
Morris   representatives    were   not    allowed    to    the   new 


FIRST  TOWNSHIP  BOUNDARIES  AND  OFFICERS. 


21 


county,  and  May  22nd  1756  in  the  minutes  of  the  As- 
sembly it  appears  that  several  petitions  were  presented 
to  the  house  from  the  county  of  Morris,  signed  by  190 
hands,  setting  forth  "  the  hardships  they  labor  under 
by  having  no  members  allowed  to  represent  them  in 
General  Assembly;  praying  the  Legislature  to  grant  them 
the  usual  privileges  as  the  other  counties  enjoy  in  being 
represented  by  two  members  in  General  Assembly  for 
the  future;  which  were  read  and  ordered  a  second  read- 
ing." 

It  was  not  till  the  last  colonial  Legislature,  which 
met  in  1772,  and  till  after  Sussex  county  had  been  set 
off  from  Morris  that  representatives  were  received  from 
this  new  county.  These  representatives  were  Jacob 
Ford  and  William  Winds,  both  exceedingly  prominent 
and  active  in  the  stirring  scenes  soon  to  be  enacted. 

On  the  25th  of  March  174c,  one.  year  after  the  act 
was  passed  constituting  the  county,  we  have  the  record 
of  the  first  court,  which  met  at  Morristown,  previously 
called  New  Hanover,  probably  at  the  hotel  of  Jacob  Ford, 
one  of  the  judges.  The  names  of  the  judges  present  the 
first  day  are  not  given,  but  on  the  next  day,  the  26th,  to 
which  they  adjourned,  there  were  present  Messrs.  John 
Budd,  Jacob  Ford,  Abraham  Kitchel,  John  Lindley  jr.i 
Timothy  Tuttle  and  Samuel  Swezy.  Their  first  business 
was  to  divide  the  new  county  into  three  townships.  The 
minute  of  their  proceedings  is  as  follows: 

"  March  25th  MDCCXL. 
"General  Sessions  of  the  Peace. 

"The  Court,  taking  into  consideration  the  necessity  of 
dividing  the  county  of  Morris  into  Proper  Townships  or 
Districts,  for  having  proper  officers  within  every  such 
Township  or  District,  and  more  especially  for  such  of- 
ficers as  are  to  act  in  concert  with  other  Townships,  we 
therefore  order  and  Determine  that  from  henceforth  a 
certain  Township,  bounded  on  Pissaic  River,  Poquanock 
River  to  the  lower  ead  of  the  great  pond  at  the  head 
thereof,  and  by  Rockaway  River  and  the  west  branch 
thereof  to  the  head  thereof,  and  thence  cross  to  the 
lower  end  of  said  pond,  and  shall  henceforth  be  called 
Poquanock  Township,  District  or  Precinct. 

"And  that  a  certain  road  from  the  Bridge,  by  John 
Day's,  up  to  the  Place  where  the  same  road  passes  be- 
■  tween  Benjamin  and  Abraham  Pierson's,  and  thence  up 
the  same  road  to  the  corner  of  Samuel  Ford's  fence, 
thence  leaving  Samuel  Ford  to  the  right  hand,  thence 
running  up  to  the  road  that  leads  from  the  Old  Iron 
Works  towards  Succasunning,  and  crossing  Whippenung 
Bridge,  and  from  thence  to  Succasunning,  and  from  thence 
to  the  great  pond  on  the  head  of  Musconecung,  do  part 
the  Township  of  Hanover  from  the  Township  of  Morris; 
which  part  of  the  county  of  Morris.  Lying  as  aforesaid, 
to  the  Southward  and  Westward  of  said  roads,  lines  and 
places,  is  ordered  by  the  Court  to  be  and  remain  a  Town- 
ship, District  or  Precinct,  and  to  be  called  and  distin- 
guished by  the  name  of  Morristown." 

These  descriptions  are  absurdly  indefinite  in  some 
respects,  and  impossible  of  identification  in  regard  to 
some  of  the  localities  mentioned.  But  the  general 
boundaries  of  the  townships  by  modern  landmarks  were 
as  follows:  Pequannock  township  included  the  territory 
bounded  north  by  the  river  of  that  name,  south  by  the 
Rockaway  River  and  west  by  Lake  Hopatcong.     Han- 


over township  was  bounded  north  by  the  Rockaway 
River,  east  by  the  Passaic  River  and  south  by  a  road 
passing  through  the  present  township  of  Chatham  near 
the  village  of  Madison,  and  so  to  and  along  the  road 
which  forms  the  present  boundary  between  Morris  and 
Hanover  to  the  present  Randolph  line,  and  by  a  line 
thence  across  the  mountains  to  Succasunna  Plains,  and 
from  there  to  the  lower  end  of  Lake  Hopatcong,  where 
all  the  townships  met.  Morris  township  included  all 
the  rest  of  the  county. 

The  first  township  officers  were  appointed  by  the 
county  court,  and  were  as  follows  : 

For  Morris  township —  Zechariah  Fairchild,  "  town 
dark  and  town  bookkeeper;"  Matthew  Lum,  assessor; 
Jacob  Ford,  collector;  Abraham  Hathaway  and  Joseph 
Coe  jr.,  freeholders;  Benjamin  Hathaway  and  Jona 
Osborne,  overseers  of  the  poor;  Joseph  Briddin  and 
Daniel  Lindsly.  surveyors  of  the  highways;  Stephen  Free- 
man and  John  Lindsley,  Esq.,  overseers  of  the  highways; 
Isaac  Whitehead,  Alexander  Ackerman  and  William  Day- 
less,  constables. 

For  Pequannock  township — Robert  Gold,  "  town  dark 
and  town  bookkeeper;"  Garret  Debough,  assessor;  Isaac 
Vandine,  Esq.,  collector;  Robert  Gold  and  Frederick 
Temont  (De  Mouth?),  freeholders;  Matthew  Vandine  and 
Nicholas  Hiler,  overseers  of  the  poor;  Henderick  Mor- 
rison and  Giles  Manderfield,  overseers  of  the  highways; 
John  Davenport,  constable. 

For  Hanover  township — Timothy  Tuttle,  Esq.,  town 
clerk  and  town  bookkeeper;  David  Wheeler,  assessor; 
Caleb  Ball,  collector;  Joseph  Tuttle  and  Caleb  Ball, 
freeholders;  John  Kinney  and  Jonathan  Stiles,  overseers 
of  the  poor;  John  Kinney  and  Samuel  Ford,  surveyors  of 
the  highways;  Paul  Leonard,  Robert  Young,  Benjamin 
Shipman  and  Edward  Crane,  overseers  of  the  highways; 
Joseph  Herriraan  and  Stephen  Ward,  constables. 

Most  of  these  names  are  still  familiar  in  these  town- 
ships and  among  these  officers  will  be  recognized  the 
ancestors  of  many  of  the  present  generation. 

It  is  well  in  this  connection  to  follow  out  the  subse- 
quent changes  in  these  townships  up  to  the  present  time. 
December  24th  1740  the  township  of  Roxbury  was- 
formed  from  the  township  of  Morris.  This  action  of  the 
court  is  thus  set  forth  in  their  minutes: 

"  A  peticion  to  the  Court  from  Sundry  of  the  inhabit- 
ance  of  the  Southwesterly  part  of  this  County  of  Morris, 
Praying  they  may  be  made  a  Township  for  several  causes 
therein  set  forth,  the  Court  grants  there  Petition  and 
Bounds  same  Township,  to  be  called  henceforth  Rox-. 
berry,  from  the  bounds  of  Summerset  County,  thence  up 
the  River  commonly  called  Pesack,  and  up  the  same  in- 
cluding the  same  to  that  Branch  or  part  thereof  called 
Indian  River,  and  thence  Northerly  and  Westerly  by  the 
bounds  of  hanover  to  the  Grate  Pond;  thence  down  by 
the  same  and  Musconitcung  to  the  Bounds  of  the  County; 
thence  by  the  Bounds  of  Hunterdon  County,  Essex  and 
Summerset  to  the  Place  first  mentioned." 

It  is  quite  impossible  to  define  exactly  the  limits  of  the 
township  thus  vaguely  described,  but  it  evidently  in- 
cluded all  the  present  townships  of  Washington,  Mount 
Olive  and  Chester,  and  part  of  Mendham,  Randolph  and 
Roxbury,  "  Indian  River  "  being  what  is  now  called  the 
north  branch  of  the  Raritan. 

The  next  year  Wallpack  township  is  mentioned  and 
officers  appointed  for  it,  and  on  March  23d   1741-2  there 


22 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


is  the  following  quaint  entry  in  regard  to  another  town- 
ship of  the  region  afterward  known  as  Sussex:  "  Whereas 
the  Court  is  informed  that  in  time  Past,  before  the  Divis- 
ion of  the  County  of  Hunterdon,  Grinnage  Township 
was  set  apart  and  bounded  on  Dillaware  river  from  Mus- 
conecung  to  Powlins  Kill,  being  the  bounds  of  Wallpack 
Township,  be  and  remain  from  hence  forth  a  Township 
or  District  by  the  name  of  Grinnage  Township." 

March  29th  1749  Mendham  township  was  created  by 
the  court,  their  action  being  recorded  as  follows: 

"  A  Petition  From  Sundry  of  the  Westerly  part  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Townships  of  Morris  and  Hanover 
and  Sunderie  of  the  Easterly  Part  of  the  Inhabitants  of 
Roxbury  To  This  Court,  praying  that  they  may  be  made 
a  Township  or  proccuts  [precinct  ?]  for  Sevrall  Causes 
therein  Sett  forth.  The  Court  upon  Reading  the  same 
grants  them  their  Petition  and  Bounds  said  Township  as 
followeth:  Beginning  at  Pasiak  River,  at  the  South  Cor- 
ner of  Henry  Wick's  Land,  and  from  thence  a  straight 
Line  to  the  Contry  Road  Between  Ezra  Halsey's  and 
Stephen  Lyon's  Land;  thence  a  Straight  Line  to  the 
Mouth  of  Robert  Young's  Meddow  Brook,  up  Rockaway 
River  to  the  Uper  end  of  Spruce  Island  in  said  River; 
thence  to  a  River  commonly  called  and  known  by  the 
name  of  Black  River,  the  nighest  to  Suckasona  mine; 
thence  down  the  same  till  an  East  point  will  strike  the 
head  spring  of  the  Most  Westerly  Branch  of  Dorson's 
Bfpok,  which  is  near  the  house  where  Sam'l  Pitdney 
Lately  Dwelt;  and  Down,  the  Stream  issuing  from  said 
Spring  till  it  comes  to  the  Road  Between  James  Wills 
and  Noah  Rude;  from  thence  ten  chain  to  the  post  of 
Joseph  Casen's  new  dwelling  house;  from  thence  South 
to  the  Lines  Between  the  County  of  Somersett  and  Mor- 
ris, and  thence  along  said  Line  to  pasiak  River  and  by 
said  River  to  the  bounds  first  mentioned;  and  to  be  from 
hence  forth  called  Mendham." 

This  included  not  only  the  present  township  of  Mend- 
ham but  also  Randolph,  and  nearly  all  of  Chester. 

June  8th  1753  the  act  of  the  Legislature  was  passed 
which  took  from  Morris  county  the  territory  west  of  the 
Musconet'^ong  river.  Lake  Hopatcong  and  a  line  drawn 
northwest  from  the  head  of  the  "  Great  Pond,"  and 
formed  it  into  the  county  of  Sussex.  The  boundaries  of 
Morris  have  remained  unchanged  since  that  time. 
There  were  in  the  new  county  the  townships  of  Grinnage, 
Wallpack,  Hardwick  and  New  Town.  In  the  old  county 
were  the  five  townships  of  Pequannock,  Hanover,  Mor- 
ris, Mendham  and  Roxbury;  and  for  forty-five  years 
there  were  but  these  five  in  Morris.  The  subsequent 
alterations  are  to  be  found  in  the  laws  of  the  State. 

Washington  township  was  formed  February  12th  1798, 
Chester  township  January  29th  1799,  Jefferson  town- 
ship February  nth  1804,  Randolph  November  13th  1805, 
Chatham  February  12th  1806,  Rockaway  March  5th  1844, 
Passaic  March  23d  1866,  Boonton  and  Montville  April 
nth  1867,  and  Mount  Olive  March  22nd  1871. 

Changes  were  made  in  the  township  lines  as  follows: 
Between  Randolph  and  Chester  in  1806,  between  Ran- 
dolph and  Pequannock  in  1831,  between  Washington  and 
Chester  in  1840  and  1853,  between  Washington  and  Rox- 
bury in  1858  and  1859,  and  between  Morris  and  Passaic 
in  1867. 

From    the   time   of    its    separation   from    Hunterdon 


Morris  county  grew  rapidly.  In  1745  it  had  a  population 
of  4,436,  and  seven  years  before  the  whole  county  of 
Hunterdon  had  but  5,570. 

In  1765,  in  a  "short  geographical  description  of  the 
province,"  by  Samuel  Smith,  the  first  historian  of  the 
State,  the  county  was  said  to  be  populous  for  a  "  late  set- 
tled county."  "  They  raise  grain  and  cattle  chiefly,  for 
New  York  market,  and  cut  large  quantities  of  timber  of 
various  sorts  for  exportation.  In  this  county  resides 
Peter  Kemble,  Esq.,  president  of  the  Council.  The 
places  for  worship  in  this  county  are — Presbyterians  nine, 
Lutherans  one.  Anabaptists  one,  Quakers  one,  Separa- 
tists one,  Rogerines  one." 

In  the  thirty-five  years  between  1740  and  1775  the  face 
of  the  country  greatly  changed.  Instead  of  a  few  vil- 
lages (at  Pompton,  Whippany,  Morristown,  German  Val- 
ley, Chester,  Dover  and  Rockaway)  the  whole  county 
had  been  opened  up  by  actual  settlers.  Furnaces  and 
a  slitting-mill  had  been  built.  Forges,  grist-mills  and 
saw-mills  were  on  all  the  streams,  and  every  considerable 
fall  of  water  turned  a  wheel  of  some  kind.  Only  the 
roughest  hills  and  the  large  lakes  or  little  "  gores  "  of 
land  overlooked  by  the  surveyor  were  left  to  the  pro- 
prietors. No  census  was  taken,  or  if  taken  has  been  pre- 
served, for  the  years  immmediately  preceding  the  war; 
but  it  seems  probable  that  the  population  was  not  less 
than  10,000  at  that  time.  They  were  an  independent, 
self-sustaining  people,  raising  their  own  bread,  and  manu- 
facturing all  that  their  wants  required.  No  county  in  the 
State  was  better  prepared  to  be  thrown  upon  its  own  re- 
sources, and  it  was  owing  quite  as  much  to  the  character 
of  the  people  as  to  its  situation  and  natural  defenses  that 
during  the  eight  years'  struggle  which  was  to  follow  no 
force  of  the  enemy  entered  its  bounds  except  as  prisoners 
of  war. 

The  population  of  the  county  at  the  various  census 
dates  has  been  as  follows:  1745,  4,436;  179c,  16,216; 
1800,  17,750;  1810,  21.828;  1820,  21,368;  1830,  23,580; 
1840,  25,861;  1850,  30,173;  1860,34,678  (680  colored); 
1870,43,161  (742  colored);  1875,49,019(788  colored); 
1880,  50,867. 

CHAPTER  IIL 


THE  PRELUDE  TO  THE  REVOLUTION — PATRIOT  LEADERS 
OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


N  quick  apprehension  of  and  sturdy  resistance 
to  the  tyrannical  measures  of  the  home  gov- 
ernment which  produced  the  Revolution, 
the  people  of  New  Jersey  were  in  no  way 
behind  the  other  colonists.  Though  not  so 
immediately  injured  by  all  the  measures  taken 
by  the  British  ministry  to  repress  their  uneasy  sub- 
jects, they  were  not  slow  to  perceive  that  the  cause  was 
a  common  one,  and  that  their  only  hope  of  success  was 
in  united  resistance.     The  Legislature  of   1772  consisted 


kEVOLUTtONARV  LEADERS  AND  SENTIMENTS. 


of  a  House  of  Assembly,  elected  by  and  sympathizing 
wih  the  people,  and  a  Privy  Council,  whose  members 
owed  their  appointment  to  Governor  Franklin,  whose 
tastes  were  aristocratic  and  their  sympathies  altogether 
with  the  king..  In  this  Assembly  Jacob  Ford  and  William 
Winds  represented  Morris  county.  While  the  governor 
and  Council  could  prevent  the  passage  of  a  law  in  aid 
of  the  popular  movement  and  the  appointing  of  dele- 
gates to  a  General  Congress  who  could  be  said  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  Legislature  of  the  State,  the  action  of  the 
Assembly  alone  was  regarded  by  the  people  as  their 
action  and  its  recommendations  were  observed  as  laws. 
February  8th  1774  the  Assembly  appointed  nine  of  its 
members  a  standing  committee  of  correspondence,  and 
requested  them  to  place  the  resolutions  appointing  them 
before  the  assemblies  of  the  other  colonies. 

On  the  nth  day  of  J.une  1774  a  meeting  of  the  free- 
holders and  inhabitants  of  Essex  county  was  held  at 
Newark,  and  resolutions  were  adopted  calling  upon  the 
other  counties  to  hold  similar  meetings  and  to  appoint 
committees  who  should  meet  in  a  State  convention  to 
appoint  delegates  to  a  General  Congress  of  deputies  to 
be  sent  from  each  of  the  colonies,  to  form  a  general  plan 
of  union,  and  pledging  their  support  and  adherence  to 
such  plan  when  adopted.  This  call  met  a  ready  response 
from  the  other  counties.  The  minds  of  all  the  citizens 
of  the  province  seemed  to  have  been  prepared  for  the 
step,  and  their  thoughts  only  required  this  example  to 
take  form. 

In  accordance  with  this  movement  "a  respectable 
body  of  freeholders  and  inhabitants  "  of  the  county  of 
Morris  met  at  the  court-house  in  Morristown  on  Monday 
June  27th  1774.  Jacob  Ford  acted  as  chairman  and  the 
following  resolutions  were  adopted: 

"  ist — That  George  the  Third  is  lawful  and  rightful 
king  of  Great  Britain  and  all  other  his  dominions  and 
countries;  and  that  as  part  of  his  dominions  it  is  our 
duty  not  only  to  render  unto  him  true  faith  and  obedi- 
ence, but  also  with  our  lives  and  fortunes  to  support  and 
maintain  the  just  dependence  of  these  his  colonies  upon 
the  crown  of  Great  Britain. 

"  2n^. — That  it  is  our  wish  and  desire,  and  we  esteem 
it  our  greatest  happiness  and  security,  to  be  governed  by 
the  laws  of  Great  Britain,  and  that  we  will  always  cheer- 
fully submit  to  them  as  far  as  can  be  done  consistently 
with  the  constitutional  liberties  and  privileges  of  free- 
born  Englishmen. 

"  ^d. — That  the  late  acts  of  Parliament  for  imposing 
taxes  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in  America  are 
oppressive  and  arbitrary,  calculated  to  disturb  the  minds 
and  alienate  the  affections  of  the  colonists  from  the  mother 
country,  are  replete  with  ruin  to  both;  and  consequently 
that  the  authors  and  promoters  of  said  acts,  or  of  such 
doctrines  of  the  right  of  taxing  America  being  in  the 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  are  and  should  be  deemed 
enemies  to  our  king  and  happy  constitution. 

"  4t/i. — That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  the 
act  of  Parliament  for  shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston  is 
unconstitutional,  injurious  in  its  principles  to  the  general 
cause  of  American  freedom,  particularly  oppressive  to 
the  inhabitants  of  that  town,  and  that  therefore  the 
people  of  Boston  are  considered  by  us  as  suffering  in  the 
general  cause  of  America. 

"5M. — That  unanimity  and  firmness   in  the  colonies 


are  the  most  effectual  means  to  relieve  our  suffering 
brethren  at  Boston,  to  avert  the  dangers  justly  to  be  ap- 
prehended from  that  alarming  act  commonly  styled  the 
Boston  Port  Bill,  and  to  secure  the  invaded  rights  and 
privileges  of  America. 

"  6//i. — That  it  is  our  opinion  that  an  agreement  be- 
tween the  colonies  not  to  purchase  or  use  any  articles 
imported  from  Great  Britain  or  from  the  East  Indies, 
under  such  restrictions  as  may  be  agreed  upon  by  the 
General  Congress  hereafter  to  be  appointed  by  the  colon- 
ies, would  be  of  service  in  procuring  a  repeal  of  those 
acts. 

"  yik. — That  we  will  most  cheerfully  join  our  brethren 
of  the  other  counties  in  this  province  in  promoting  an 
union  of  the  colonies  by  forming  a  General  Congress  of 
deputies  to  be  sent  from  each  of  the  colonies;  and  do 
now  declare  ourselves  ready  to  send  a  committee  to 
meet  with  those  from  the  other  counties  at  such  time  and 
place  as  by  them  may  be  agreed  upon,  in  order  to  elect 
proper  persons  to  represent  this  province  in  the  said  Con- 
gress. 

"  8(A. — That  it  is  the  request  of  this  meeting  that  the 
county  committees,  when  met  for  the  purposes  aforesaid, 
do  take  into  their  serious  consideration  the  propriety  of 
setting  on  foot  a  subscription  for  the  benefit  of  the 
sufferers  at  Boston  under  the  Boston  Port  Bill  above 
mentioned,  and  the  money  arising  from  such  subscriptions 
to  be  laid  out  as  the  committees  so  met  shall  think  will 
best  answer  the  ends  proposed. 

"  9M. — That  we  will  faithfully  adhere  to  such  regula- 
tions and  restrictions  as  shall  by  the  members  of  said 
Congress  be  agreed  upon  and  judged  most  expedient  for 
avoiding  the  calamities  and  procuring  the  benefits  in- 
tended in  the  foregoing  resolves. 

"  lot/i. — It  is  our  request  that  the  committee  hereafter 
named  do  correspond  and  consult  with  such  other  com- 
mittees as  shall  be  appointed  by  the  other  counties  in 
this  province,  and  particularly  that  they  meet  with  the 
said  county  committee  in  order  to  elect  and  appoint 
deputies  to  represent  this  province  in  a  General  Con- 
gress. 

"  iif/i. — We  do  hereby  desire  the  following  gentlemen 
to  accept  of  that  important  trust,  and  accordingly  do  ap- 
point them  our  committee  for  the  purposes  aforesaid: 
Jacob  Ford,  William  Winds,  Abraham  Ogden,  William 
De  Hart,  Samuel  Tuthill,  Jonathan  Stiles,  John  Carle, 
Philip  V.  Cortland  and  Samuel  Ogden,  Esquires." 

The  committee  appointed  at  this  meeting  was  selected 
from  all  parts  of  the  county,  and  its  members  were  lead- 
ing men  in  the  community. 

Jacob  Ford  was  the  son  of  John  Ford,  of  Woodbridge, 
N.  J.,  and  was  born  at  the  latter  place  in  1704.  He  was 
one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  iron  business  of  New  Jersey, 
and  from  the  year  1738,  when  we  find  him  applying  to 
keep  an  inn  in  "  New  Hanover,"  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  January  19th  1777,  his  name  is  frequently  met 
in  the  public  records  and  his  influence  was  widely  felt. 
He  was  no  doubt  the  leading  man  in  Morristown,  keeping 
a  store  from  which  not  only  the  community  about  him 
but  his  many  employes  in  his  different  forges  drew  sup- 
plies. The  first  court,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  met 
at  his  house,  and  "  Washington's  Headquarters "  v/as 
built  by  him,  probably  in  1774,  though  his  son  Colonel 
Jacob  Ford  jr.  resided  there  at  the  time  of  his  death 
When  made  a  delegate  to  the  Provincial  Congress  he  was 
an  old  man,  and  his  son  and  namesake  was  succeeding 
him  in  his  business  and  in  his  place  in  public  regard. 


ttlSTOkY  OP  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


Unfortunately   the    son    died    a    few   days    before    his 
fathier. 

General  William  Winds  was  in  many  respects  a  remark- 
able man.  He  was  born  in  Southold,  Long  Island,  in 
the  year  1727  or  1728.  Early  in  life  he  removed  to  New 
Jersey  and  settled  near  Dover,  on  the  farm  which  he 
afterward  willed  to  the  Rockaway  church,  to  which  he 
was  much  attached.  The  car  shops  of  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad  are  built  upon  a  part 
of  this  farm,  and  not  far  from  where  the  mansion  house 
stood.  He  was  a  man  of  great  physical  powers,  tremen- 
dous voice,  strong  will  and  indomitable  courage.  Very 
impulsive,  he  was  calculated  to  be  a  leader  and  foremost 
in  every  popular  movement.  He  is  said  to  have  borne 
a  commission  in  the  French  war  in  a  New  Jersey  com- 
piahy.  As  colonel  of  the  ist  regiment  ist  establishment 
in  the  continental  army,  and  as  brigadier  general  of 
militia,  he  acquitted  himself  with  honor,  and  the  name  of 
no  other  of  our  Revolutionary  heroes  has  been  so  much 
honored  as  his  by  both  his  own  and  succeeding  genera- 
tions. A  very  interesting  sketch  of  his  life  was  read  be 
fore  the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society  by  Dr.  Tuttle  in 
1853,  and  published  in  its  proceedings,  to  which  we 
must  refer  for  a  more  detailed  account  of  this  ardent 
patriot.  General  Winds  died  October  12th  1789,  and  is 
buried  in  the  Rockaway  cemetery,  where  his  monument 
rn'ay  be  seen. 

Abraham  Ogden  and  Samuel  Ogden  were  brothers,  and 
sons  of  Judge  David  Ogden,  of  Newark,  who  graduated 
at  Yale  in  1728  and  became  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
supreme  court  of  this  State.  When  the  war  broke  out  he 
espoused  the  side  of  the  king  and  became  a  distinguished 
loyalist.  One  son,  Isaac,  sided  with  his  father,  and  his 
interest  in  the  old  Boonton  property  was  accordingly 
Confiscated  and  sold  to  his  brother  by  the  commissioners. 
Abraham  and  Samuel  were  active  and  ardent  patriots. 
The  former  was  a  distinguished  lawyer,  and  said  to 
have  had  no  equal  before  a  jury.  He  was  appointed 
surrogate  for  Morris  in  1768.  After  the  war  he  returned 
to  Newark,  was  United  States  district  attorney  in  Wash- 
ington's administration,  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature 
in  1790,  and  died  suddenly  in  1798,  upward  of  sixty 
years  of  age.  Samuel  Ogden  married  a  sister  of  Gov- 
ernor Morris,  and  lived  at  Old  Boonton,  where  he  was 
largely  engaged  in  the  iron  business.  He  commanded  a 
company  of  militia  in  the  war.  In  1805  he  is  described 
in  a  deed  as  being  of  Newark.  He  was  the  father  of 
David  B.  Ogden,  eminent  at  the  bar,  both  in  New  Jersey 
and  New  York. 

William  De  Hart  was  a  lawyer  residing  in  Morristown, 
and  one  of  its  streets  was  afterward  named  after  him. 
He  was  a  son  of  Dr.  Matthias  De  Hart,  and  had  two 
brothers  killed  in  the  war.  His  name  occurs  frequently 
in  the  records  of  the  court.  He  was  licensed  as  attorney 
November  ist  1767,  and  as  counselor  May  30th  1771. 
He  was  a  major  in  the  first  battalion,  first  and  second  es- 
tablishments; afterward  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  second 
regiment  continental  army.  He  was  born  December  7th 
1746,  and  died  June  i6th  1801. 


Samuel  Tuthill  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  Morristown, 
a  son-in-law  of  Jacob  Ford  sen.,  and  after  the  war  clerk 
of  the  county  and  judge  of  the  county  court.  He  lived 
on  South  street,  at  the  corner  of  Pine,  where  James  Wood 
afterward  lived. 

Jonathan  Stiles  was  one  of  the  county  judges  and  had 
been  sheriff  of  the  county.  He  also  lived  in  Morristown. 
Jonathan  Stiles,  named  as  a  township  officer  in  1726, 
probably  father  of  the  delegate,  died  in  Morristown  No- 
vember isth  1758,  aged  80  years. 

John  Carle  was  one  of  the  county  judges,  and  resided 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  county.  He  was  an  elder  in 
the  Basking  Ridge  church  and  a  man  much  respected. 

Philip  Van  Cortland  was  probably  from  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Pompton,  and  his  name  appears  as  colonel  of 
the  2nd  regiment  of  Essex  county,  and  in  1776  as  colonel 
of  a  battalion  in  Heard's  brigade.  There  was  a  man  of 
the  same  name — a  delegate  to  the  Provincial  Congress  of 
New  York — who  entered  the  military  service  of  the  king^ 
and  who  in  1782  was  major  of  the  3d  battalion  N.J.  (loyal) 
volunteers.     At  the  peace  he  went  to  Nova  Scotia. 

The  committees  of  the  several  counties  met  at  New 
Brunswick  July  21st,  and  appointed  five  of  their  members 
delegates  to  the  General  Congress,  which  met  in  Phila- 
delphia September  5th.  This  General  Congress,  after 
adopting  various  resolutions,  and  after  a  general  inter- 
change of  views,  resolved  that  another  General  Congress 
should  be  held  on  the  loth  of  May  following,  to  which 
all  the  colonies  were  requested  to  send  delegates.  Del- 
egates for  this  convention  were  chosen  by  the  Assembly 
of  New  Jersey  for  the  province,  that  body  being  urged  to 
take  the  responsibility  of  that  action  by  the  people  of  the 
several  counties. 

The  committee  of  correspondence,  appointed  in  June 
1774,  after  the  adjournment  of  the  General  Congress  in 
Philadelphia  called  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  at  Morris- 
town to  endorse  its  action.  The  proceedings  of  this 
meeting,  breathing  the  same  spirit  of  resistance  and  ex- 
hibiting an  appreciation  on  the  part  of  the  committee 
that  their  appointment  was  "  by  the  people  and  for  the 
people,"  were  as  follows: 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  of  the  county  of 
Morris,  at  Morristown,  on  Monday  the  9th  day  of  Janu- 
ary 1775,  William  Winds,  Esq.,  chairman,  the  committee 
of  correspondence  for  the  county  of  Morris  having  pro- 
duced and  read  the  association  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, the  same  was  deliberately  considered  by  the  whole 
assembly  and  by  them  unanimously  approved  as  a  wise, 
prudent  and  constitutional  mode  of  opposition  to  the 
late  several  tyrannical  and  oppressive  acts  of  the  British 
Parliament.  Whereupon  they  unanimously  determined 
strictly  to  abide  by  the  same,  and  thanks  to  the  delegates 
of  this  colony  for  their  great  attention  to  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  their  constituents,  and  for  the  faithful  dis- 
charge of  the  important  trust  reposed  in  them. 

"The  assembly  then  unanimously  agreed  that  the  in- 
habitants of  each  several  township  in  the  county  should 
meet,  at  their  respective  places  of  holding  town  meet- 
ings, on  Monday  the  23d  day  of  January  instant,  at  i 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  then  and  there  respectively  to 
choose  (by  those  who  are  qualified  to  vote  for  repre- 
sentatives in  the  Legislature)  a  committee  of  observation. 


THE  PATRIOT  COMMITTEEMEN. 


25 


pursuant  to  and  for  the  purposes  expressed  in  the  elev- 
enth article  of  the  said  association.  After  which  the 
committee  of  correspondence  declared  to  the  assembly 
that  they  had  thought  proper  to  dissolve  themselves,  in 
order  that  their  constituents  might  have  an  opportunity 
of  a  new  choice,  and  that  they  were  dissolved  accord- 
ingly. Whereupon  Jacob  Ford,  William  Winds  and 
Jonathan  Stiles,  Esquires,  Messrs.  Jacob  Drake,  Peter 
Dickerson  and  Ellis  Cook,  together  with  Samuel  Tuthill, 
Dr.  William  Hart  and  Abraham  Ogden,  Esquires,  were 
elected;  and  at  the  same  time  authorized  to  instruct  the 
representatives  of  this  county  when  convened  in  General 
Assembly  to  join  in  the  appointment  of  delegates  for  this 
colony  to  meet  in  General  Congress  at  Philadelphia;  but 
if  the  said  assembly  should  not  appoint  delegates  for 
that  purpose  by  the  first  day  of  April  next,  then  the  said 
committee  of  correspondence  to  meet  with  the  several 
county  committees  of  this  colony  and  appoint  the  said 
delegates,  at  such  time  and  place  as  shall  be  agreed  upon 
by  the  said  committees. 

"  The  assembly  afterwards,  taking  into  consideration 
the  conduct  of  James  Rivington,  printer  in  New  York, 
in  publishing  two  certain  pamphlets — the  one  entitled 
'  A  Friendly  Address,'  &c.,  &c.,  the  other  under  the 
signature  of  '  A.  W.  Farmer,'  and  several  others — 
all  containing  many  falsehoods,  wickedly  calculated  to 
divide  the  colonies,  to  deceive  the  ignorant,  and  to  cause 
a  base  submission  to  the  unconstitutional  measures  of  the 
British  Parliament  for  enslaving  the  colonies,  do  unan- 
imously resolve  that  they  esteem  the  said  James  Riving- 
ton an  enemy  to  his  country;  and  therefore  that  they 
will  for  the  future  refrain  from  taking  his  newspapers, 
and  from  all  further  commerce  with  him;  and  that  by  all 
lawful  means  in  their  power  they  will  discourage  the  cir- 
culation of  his  papers  in  this  county." 

John  Carle  and  Philip  Van  Cortland  were  left  off  the 
new  committee  for  some  reason,  and  Jacob  Drake  and 
Peter  Dickerson  appointed  in  their  places. 

Colonel  Jacob  Drake  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  at 
Drakesville,  where  he  located  a  large  tract  of  land,  on 
which  he  resided  the  remainder  of  his  life,  selling  off 
portions  as  the  county  became  more  thickly  settled.  He 
was  born  in  1730  and  was  of  a  Virginia  family.  At  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war  he  took  at  once  a  leading  part. 
He  is  described  as  of  handsome  physique,  quick  and 
active  in  his  movements  and  of  very  popular  manners. 
He  was  colonel  of  the  "  western  battalion  "  of  Morris 
militia,  and  resigned  his  commission  to  represent  the 
county  in  the  first  State  Legislature.  He  died  at  Drakes 
ville,  September  1823,  aged  93  years.  Colonel  Drake's 
second  wife  was  Esther  Dickerson,  daughter  of  Captain 
Peter  Dickerson,  of  the  continental  army,  and  his  asso- 
ciate on  the  committee.  By  her  he  had  six  children — 
Clarissa,  wife  of  Dr.  Ebenezer  Woodruff;  Jacob  Drake 
jr.,  of  Drakesville;  Silas  Drake,  who  removed  to  the 
west;  Hon.  George  K.  Drake,  judge  of  the  supreme 
court  of  New  Jersey;  Peter  Drake,  and  Eliza,  wife  of 
Dr.  Absalom  Woodruff. 

Peter  Dickerson,  son  of  Thomas  Dickerson,  was  born 
at  Southoid,  Long  Island,  in  1724,  and  came  to  New 
Jersey  about  1741  and  settled  in  Morris  county.  He 
was  an  ardent  patriot  and  his  house  in  Morristown  was 
from  the  beginning  of  the  difficulties  with  Great  Britain 
a  gathering  place  of  those  of  kindred  mind.  He  was  a 
member  pf  the  Provincial  Congress  of  1776,  and  was 


captain  of  the  sth  company  of  the  3d  battalion  first 
establishment  continental  army,  and  of  the  ist  company 
3d  battalion  second  establishment,  his  men  re-enlisting 
in  a  body.  It  is  said  that  he  paid  all  the  expense  of  the 
equipment  of  this  company  out  of  his  own  pocket,  and 
that  the  money  he  so  advanced  stands  to  his  credit  to- 
day in  Washington,  unpaid.  He  died  May  loth  1780,  in 
the  56th  year  of  his  age,  and  is  buried  in  the  First 
Church  burying  ground  in  Morristown.  By  his  first 
wife,  Ruth  Coe,  he  had  eight  children,  one  of  whotn— 
Jonathan— was  the  father  of  Governor  Mahlon  Dicker- 
son,  and  another — Esther — married  first  George  King,  of 
Morristown,  and  afterward  Colonel  Jacob  Drake. 

Who  were  chosen  members  of  the  several  jtownship 
committees  on  January  23d  cannot  now  be  ascertained. 
It  is  only  known  that  each  township  did  elect  such  a 
committee.  Matthias  Burnet,  Aaron  Kitchel,  David 
Biuen,  Captain  Stephen  Day,  Stephen  Munson,  Benja- 
min Howell  and  Captain  James  Keen  were  on  the  com- 
mittee for  Hanover.  The  committee  for  Pequannock 
township  was  composed  of  Robert  Gaston,  Moses  Tuttle, 
Stephen  Jackson,  Abraham  Kitchel  and  Job  Allen. 
David  Thompson  was  chairman  of  the  Mendham  com- 
mittee. Each  member  of  these  committees  exerted  him- 
self -to  obtain  signatures  to  a  form  of  association  which 
pledged  the  signers  to  sustain  the  Provincial  and  Conti- 
nental Congresses,  and  none  others  were  allowed  to  vote 
for  delegates  to  the  Congress  of  the  province.  The 
paper  of  Captain  Stephen  Jackson,  with  172  signers,  has 
been  preserved  and  is  printed  in  the  "  Revolutipnary 
Fragments "  of  Dr.  Tuttle.  While  the  committee  for 
Hanover  township  is  called  a  committee  of  safety  and 
was  in  existence  in  February  1775,  the  form  of  the 
articles  of  association  to  which  it  was  to  obtain  signa- 
tures was  adopted  by  the  Provincial  Congress  at  its 
meeting  on  May  31st.  .    , 

This  Provincial  Congress,  which  met  at  Trenton  May 
23d  1775,  and  continued  its  session  through  June  and 
August,  met  in  response  to  a  call  made  by  a  committee 
of  correspondence,  and,  assuming  thejpowers  of  govern- 
ment, supplanted  the  former  Legislature.  The  members 
of  the  Assembly  were  many  of  them  members  of  th,is 
Congress,  and  the  meetings  of  one  body  were  held 
during  the  adjournments  of  the  other.  The  delegates 
from  Morris  county  were  appointed  at  a  meeting  pf  ^he 
inhabitants  held  May  ist.  The  proceedings  pf  this 
meeting  and  of  the  meeting  of  the  delegates  the  next 
day  show  the  progress  that  had  been  made  in  the  work 
of  revolution.     They  are  as  follows: 

"  Pursuant  to  an  appointment  of  a  meetingof  the  free- 
holders and  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Morris,  agree- 
able to  notice  given  by  the  former  committee  of  corre- 
spondence, the  said  freeholders  and  inhabitants  did  meet 
accordingly  on  Monday  the  first  day  of  May  anno  Domini 
1775 — Jacob  Ford,  Esq.,  chairman;  William  De  Hart, 
Esq.,  clerk — and  came  into  the  following  votes  and  reso- 
lutions, to  wit: 

"  That  delegates  be  chosen  to  represent  the  county  of 
Morris,  and  that  the  said  delegates  be  vested  with  the 
power  of  legislation,  and  that  they  raise  men,  money  and 
arms  for  the  common  defense  and  point  out  tUe  mode. 


26 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


method  and  means  of  raising,  appointing  and  paying  the 
said  men  and  officers,  subject  to  the  control  and  direction 
of  the  Provincial  and  Continental  Congress;  and  that 
afterward  they  meet  in  Provincial  Congress  with  such 
counties  as  shall  send  to  the  same  jointly  with  them  to 
levy  taxes  on  the  province,  with  full  power  of  legislative 
authority,  if  they  think  proper  to  exercise  the  same,  for 
the  said  province;  and  the  said  Provincial  Congress  be 
subject  to  the  control  of  the  grand  Continental  Congress. 

"And  they  proceeded  to  elect  the  following  persons 
to  be  their  delegates  as  aforesaid,  to  wit:  William  Winds, 
Esq.,  William  De  Hart,  Esq.,  Silas  Condict,  Peter  Dick- 
erson,  Jacob  Drake,  KUis  Cook,  Jonathan  Stiles,  Esq., 
David  Thompson,  Esq.,  Abraham  Kitchel. 

"  And  pursuant  to  the  above  appointment  the  said 
delegates  met  at  the  house  of  Captain  Peter  Dickerson 
at  Morristown,  in  the  county  of  Morris,  on  the  first  day 
of  May  1775.  Present:  William  Winds,  Esc^^.,  Silas  Con- 
dict, Peter  Dickerson,  Jacob  Drake,  Ellis  Cook,  Jona- 
than Stiles,  Esq.,  David  Thompson,  Esq.,  Abraham 
Kitchel.  William  Winds,  Esq.,  was  unanimously  chosen 
chairman.     Archibald  Dallas  was  appointed  clerk.  ' 

"  Voted,  unanimously,  that  any  five  of  the  delegates 
when  met  be  a  body  of  the  whole,  and  do  make  a  board, 
and  that  a  majority  of  them  so  met  should  make  a  vote. 

"  Voted,  unanimously,  that  forces  should  be  raised. 

"  Then  the  delegates  adjourned  till  to-morrow  at  9 
o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Captain 
Peter  Dickerson,  aforesaid." 

Having  met  pursuant  to  the  adjournment  the  delegates 
voted  that  three  hundred  volunteers  be  recruited,  to  be 
equally  divided  into  five  companies,  each  to  have  a  cap- 
tain and  two  lieutenants  except  the  first  two  companies, 
which  were  to  be  commanded  by  two  field  officers.  Wil- 
liam Winds  was  designated  as  colonel;  William  De  Hart, 
major;  Samuel  Ball,  Joseph  Morris  and  Daniel  Budd, 
captains;  John  Huntington,  "  captain-lieutenant  "  in  the 
colonel's  company,  and  Silas  Howell  ditto  in  the  major's 
company.  The  captains  were  to  appoint  their  lieuten- 
ants. 

It  was  ordered  that  the  captains  should  discipline  their 
men  at  the  rate  of  one  day  every  week  till  further  orders, 
the  times  and  places  to  be  appointed  by  the  captains.  It 
was  voted  "  that  the  said  officers  and  men  shall  be  paid 
as  follows,  viz.:  Captains,  seven  shillings  proclamation 
money  per  day;-  first  lieutenants,  six  shillings  per  day; 
second  lieutenants,  five  shillings  per  day;  sergeants,  three 
shillings  and  six  pence  per  day;  private  men,  three  shil- 
lings per  day  and  found  with  provisions,  arms  and  am- 
munition; and  when  only  in  discipline  at  home,  the  same 
wages  and  to  find  themselves;  and  their  wages  to  be  paid 
every  two  months." 

It  was  ordered  that  five  hundred  pounds  of  powder 
and  a  ton  of  lead  be  purchased  and  kept  in  a  magazine, 
for  the  use  of  the  new  regiment,  and  William  De  Hart 
was  appointed  to  make  the  purchase. 

It  was  voted  "  that  the  votes  and  resolves  of  this 
meeting  shall  be  subject  to  the  control  of  the  Provincial 
and  Continental  Congresses,  to  take  place  after  due 
notice  being  given  to  us  by  either  of  the  said  Congresses 
of  their  disapprobation  of  all  or  any  of  our  proceedings; 
and  the  delegates,  taking  into  consideration  the  unhappy 
circumstances  of  this  country,  do  recommend  to  the  in- 
habitants of  this  county  capable  of  bearing  arms  to  pro- 


vide themselves  with  arms  and  ammunition,  to  defend 
their  country  in  case  of  any  invasion. 

"Adjourned  till  the  ninth  day  of  this  month,  at  9  o'clock 
in  the  forenoon,  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Captain  Peter 
Dickerson,  in  Morristown." 

This  resolution  to  raise  three  companies  was  antici- 
pating the  first  action  of  the  Provincial  Congress  in  re- 
gard to  militia.  On  the  3d  of  June  1775  an  act  provid- 
ing a  plan  for  regulating  the  militia  of  the  colony  was 
passed,  directing  that  where  companies  and  regiments 
were  already  formed  and  officers  chosen  and  appointed  the 
same  were  to  be  continued.  The  muster  roll  signed  by 
recruits  contained  only  the  promise  "  to  obey  our  officers 
in  such  service  as  they  shall  ai)point  us,  agreeable  to  the 
rules  and  orders  of  the  Provincial  Congress."  Morris, 
county  was  to  have  two  regiments  and  one  battalion. 

Silas  Condict,  of  Morristown,  Ellis  Cook,  of  Hanover, 
David  Thompson,  of  Mendham,  and  Abraham  Kitchel, 
of  Pequannock,  who  were  the  new  members  of  the  Mor- 
ris county  delegation,  were  men  in  every  way  worthy  of 
the  honor  conferred  upon  them. 

Silas  Condict  was  the  son  of  Peter  Condict,  who  came 
from  Newark  to  Morristown  about  1730  and  lived  first 
on  the  Doughty  place,  on  Kimball  avenue,  and  afterward 
in  a  house  near  the  David  Mills  place.  His  son  Silas 
was  born  March  7th  1738,  and  married  first  Phebe  Day, 
and  afterward  Abigail  Byram.  He  was  a  man  of  good 
education  and  fine  ability,  an  active  member  and  trustee 
in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  an  ardent  patriot.  He 
was  one  of  the  committee  of  the  Provincial  Congress  to 
draft  the  first  constitution  of  the  State,  and  was  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  county  in  the  State  council.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  council  of  safety  in  1777-8,  and  in  1783 
represented  the  State  in  the  Continental  Congress.  He 
was  twice  appointed  one  of  the  judges  of  the  county, 
and  was  eight  times  elected  to  the  House  of  Assembly, 
of  which  body  he  was  four  times  the  speaker.  He  died 
September  i8th  i8oi,  leaving  but  one  descendant,  a 
granddaughter,  afterward  the  wife  of  Colonel  Joseph 
Cutler,  and  the  mother  of  Hon.  Augustus  W.  Cutler.  His 
nephew.  Dr.  Lewis  Condict,  son  of  Peter  Condict  jr.,  was 
a  member  of  Congress  from  this  State,  and  speaker  of 
the  House. 

Ellis  Cook  was  a  very  prominent  public  man  and 
maintained  the  respect  and  confidence  of  a  large  con- 
stituency,for  many  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Coun- 
cil for  three  years,  and  of  the  House  of  Assembly  for 
fourteen  years. 

David  Thompson  was  a  devout  elder  in  the  Mendham 
Presbyterian  church,  and  noted  for  his  eloquence  in 
prayer  and  faith  in  the  ultimate  success  of  the  patriots. 
He  said  in  one  of  the  darkest  hours  of- the  struggle:  "We 
can  look  to  Jehovah  when  all  other  refuges  fail;"  and  his 
wife  declared  to  the  numerous  soldiers  she  entertained 
without  charge  that  "  nothing  was  too  good  for  the  use 
of  those  who  fight  for  our  country."  Thompson  com- 
manded a  company  of  militia  in  the  war. 

Abraham  Kitchel  was  a  son  of  Joseph  Kitchel,  of 
Hanover,  and  a  brothe'r  of  Hon.  Aaron  Kitchel,  the  mem- 


REVOLUTIONARY  LEADERS— CONTINENTAL  TROOPS. 


27 


ber  of  Congress  and  United  States  senator.  He  was  born 
August  26th  1736,  and  in  1768  was  one  of  the  supporters 
of  the  Rockaway  church,  to  which  he  continued  to  be- 
long until  his  death.  He  lived  at  first  on  the  "  back 
road  "  from  Rockaway  to  Hibernia,  in  a  log  house  near 
the  stone  house  occupied  after  his  death  by  his  son  James. 
He  was  a  man  of  better  education  than  was  common 
among  men  of  his  day,  of  strong  good  sense,  and  of  firm- 
ness amounting  to  obstinacy.  He  had  great  independ- 
ence of  character  and  more  than  ordinary  physical 
strength.  He  built  the  Mansion  House  at  White  Meadow, 
and  occupied  it  until  1799,  when  he  sold  it  and  the  lands 
about  it  to  Bernard  Smith.  He  died  at  Parsippany,  Jan- 
uary nth  1807. 

•Of  the  military  officers  chosen,  Cologel  Winds,  Major 
De  Hart  and  Captains  Morris  and  Howell  soon  found 
their  way  into  the  "  regular  army  "  of  that  day,  and  were 
officers  in  the  ist  battalion  ist  establishment  of  the  con- 
tinental army — "Jersey  Line."  Joseph  Morris  was  made 
captain  of  the  first  company  in  this  ist  establishment, 
November  8th  1775,  and  captain  of  the  first  company  in 
the  rst  battalion  2nd  establishment  November  29th  1776. 
He  was  promoted  to  be  major,  and  severely  wounded  at 
the  battle  of  Germantown,  October  4th  1777,  and  died 
from  his  wounds,  January  7th  1778. 

Captain  Silas  Howell  was  captain  of  the  2nd  company 
ist  battalion  ist  establishment,  November  14th  1775; 
captain  of  the  2nd  company  ist  battalion  2nd  establish- 
ment, November  29th  1776,  and  retired  September  26th 
1780. 

John  Huntington  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Rockaway  church  in  1758,  and  an  elder  in  it  for  many 
years.  His  beautiful  handwriting  and  fair  composition 
in  the  church  records  show  him  to  have  been  a  man  of 
considerable  education.  He  lived  near  Shongum,  and 
left  at  his  death  considerable  estate.  He  was  quarter- 
master in  General  Winds's  militia  brigade. 

Archibald  Dallas,  the  clerk  of  the  meeting,  was  com- 
missioned second  lieutenant  in  Meeker's  company  1st 
battalion  ist  establishment,  December  9th  1775,  and  in 
Captain  Howell's  company  ist  battalion  2nd  establish- 
ment November  29th  1776;  captain  in  the  4th  battalion 
2nd  establishment,  and  also  in  Colonel  Spencer's  reg- 
iment, and  was  killed  in  action  January  28th  1779. 

This  first  Provincial  Congress  on  August  12th  directed 
an  election  in  the  several  counties,  to  be  held  on  Thurs- 
day the  2 1  St  day  of  September,  for  delegates  to  attend 
the  Provincial  Congress  to  meet  at  Trenton  October  3d 
1775.  The  delegates  to  the  latter  from  Morris  county 
were  William  Winds,  William  De  Hart,  Jacob  Drake, 
Silas  Condict  and  Ellis  Cook.  It  was  the  last  Provincial 
Congress,  and  continued  its  sessions,  with  adjournments, 
to  August  2ist  1776,  when  it  adjourned  without  day, 
July  2nd  1776,  two  days  before  the  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence, it  adopted  the  first  constitution  of  this  State, 
under  which  the  first  State  Legislature  was  elected,  and 
which  continued  in  force  until  supplanted  by  the  consti- 
tution of  1834.  On  the  committee  to  draft  this  constitu- 
tion was  Silas  Condict. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


MORRIS  COUNTY  TROOPS  IN  THE  CONTINENTAL  ARMY. 


N  the  9th  of  October  1775  the  Continental 
Congress  made  its  first  call  on  New  Jersey 
for  troops.  It  was  in  the  shape  of  the  follow- 
ing resolutions: 

^^  Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the 
convention  of  New  Jersey  that  they  immediately 
raise,  at  the  expense  of  the  continent,  two  bat- 
talions, consisting  of  eight  companies  each,  and  each 
company  of  sixty-eight  privates,  officered  with  one  cap- 
tain, one  lieutenant,  one  ensign,  four  sergeants,  and  four 
corporals. 

"  That  the  privates  be  enlisted  for  one  year,  at  the  rate 
of  five  dollars  per  calendar  month,  liable  to  be  discharged 
at  any  time  on  allowing  them  one  month's  pay  extra- 
ordinary. 

"  That  each  of  the  privates  be  allowed,  instead  of  a 
bounty,  one  felt  hat,  a  pair  of  yarn  stockings,  and  a  pair 
of  shoes;  the  men  to  find  their  own  arms. 

"  That  the  pay  of  the  officers,  for  the  present,  be  the 
same  as  that  of  the  officers  in  the  present  continental 
array;  and  in  case  the  pay  of  the  officers  in  the  army  is 
augmented  the  pay  of  the  officers  in  these  -battalions 
shall,  in  like  manner,  be  augmented  from  the  time  of 
their  engaging  in  the  service." 

These  resolutions  were  laid  before  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress October  13th  1775,  and  that  body  on  the  26th  of 
the  same  month  resolved  that  warrants  be  issued  to  the 
proper  persons  to  raise  the  troops  called  for,  and  appointed 
mustering  officers  to  review  the  companies  when  raised. 
The  form  of  enlistment  was  in  the  following  words: 

"I ,  have   this  day  voluntarily 

enlisted  myself  as  a  soldier  in  the  American  continental 
army  for  one  year,  unless  sooner  discharged,  and  do  bind 
myself  to  conform  in  all  instances  to  such  rules  and 
regulations  as  are  or  shall  be  established  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  said  army." 

Some  delay  was  caused  by  the  question  whether  the 
field  officers  should  be  appointed  by  the  Provincial  or 
the  Continental  Congress;  but  on  the  loth  of  November 
(only  a  month  after  the  first  call  of  Congress),  this  ques- 
tion being  settled  by  the  confirmation,  by  the  Continental 
Congress,  of  the  officers  recommended  by  the  State  au- 
thorities, six  companies  were  raised  and  ordered  to  gar- 
rison the  fort  in  the  Highlands  on  the  Hudson;  and  No- 
vember 27th  the  rest  of  the  two  battalions  were  ordered 
into  barracks  in  New  York.  December  8th  both  bat- 
talions were  ordered  into  New  York,  and  on  the  26th 
they  were  ordered  to  be  mustered.  These  troops  were 
called  the  first  or  eastern  battalion  and  second  or  western 
battalion  of  the  first  establishment.  As  stated  hereafter 
a  third  battalion  was  afterward  called  for  by  Congress 
January  loth  1776,  which  was  raised  for  this  establish- 
ment. The  western  battalion  was  in  the  western  and 
southern  parts  of  the  State,  but  in  the  eastern  battalion 
Morris  county  was  largely  represented.  Lord  Stirling 
was  colonel,  William  Winds  was  lieutenant  colonel,  and, 


28 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


after  Stirling's  promotion,  Colonel  William  De  Hart  was 
major.  Three  companies  at  least  were  from  Morris,  viz: 
The  first  company,  of  which  Joseph  Morris  was  captain, 
Daniel  Baldwin  first  lieutenant,  Daniel  Brown  second 
lieutenant,  and  Jonathan  F.  Morris  ensign;  the  second 
company,  of  which  Silas  Howell  was  captain,  John  Mer- 
cer first  lieutenant,  Richard  Johnson  second  lieutenant 
and  Jacob  Kemper  ensign;  and  the  fifth  company,  of 
which  Joseph  Meeker  was  captain,  Yellis  (or  Giles)  Mead 
first  lieutenant,  Archibald  Dallas  second  lieutenant,  and 
George  Ross  ensign. 

On  the  loth  of  January  1776  three  companions  of  this 
first  battalion  were  ordered  to  report  to  Colonel  Nathaniel 
Heard,  in  command  of  minute  men,  for  duty  in  arresting 
tories  and  disaffected  persons  in  Queens  county,  N.  Y. 
The  rest  of  the  battalion,  Colonel  Winds  commanding, 
Were  stationed  at  Perth  Amboy  and  Elizabethtown  until 
May  1776.  On  the  3d  of  May,  with  the  third  battalion, 
they  left  New  York  to  join  the  expedition  to  Canada, 
and  having  been  joined  by  the  second  battalion  took  an 
active  part  in  the  operations  before  Quebec.  Later  the 
first  and  second  battalions  were  ordered  into  barracks  at 
Ticonderoga,  and  remained  at  that  place  until  directed, 
November  5th  1776,  to  return  to  New  Jersey  for  dis- 
charge. 

January  loth  1776  Congress  directed  another  battalion 
to  be  raised  in  New  Jersey  on  the  same  terms  as  the 
other  two,  and  on  the  6th  of  February  the  recommenda- 
tion was  made  by  the  Provincial  Congress.  The  regir 
ment  was  organized  at  once,  and  left  Elizabethtown 
April  29th  for  New  York.  On  the  3d  of  May  it  sailed 
for  Albany  with  the-  first  battalion,  and  served  with  it- in 
the  campaign.  The  battalion  left  Albany  March  7th 
1777,  and  was  discharged  at  Morristown  on  the  23d. 
The  regiment  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Elias  Dayton, 
and  contained  at  least  one  Morris  county  company— the 
fifth — which  was  commanded  by  Peter  Dickerson,  of 
Morristown,  Stephen  Dunham  being  first  lieutenant, 
David  Tuttle  second  lieutenant,  and  William  Tenbrook 
ensign.  A  list  of  the  enlisted  men  of  this  company  has 
been  made  up  for  the  files  of  the  adjutant  general  and 
is  as  follows: 

William  Anderson,  Stephen  Beach,  Woodrick  Bilberry, 
William  Bishop,  Joseph  Bolterhouse,  Jacob  Buttersop, 
Martin  Crill,  Andrew  Culpet,  Patrick  Davis,  Luke  De 
Voir,  John  English,  Jeremiah  Fleming,  Daniel  Guard, 
Thomas  Hathaway,  John  Hill,  John  Howe,  Jacob  Kent, 
Henry  Kitchen,  William  Logan,  Timothy  Losey,  Thomas 
Martin,  Clement  Martin,  James  Mathers,  Robert  Mc- 
Kindrick,  William  Mead,  John  Moore,  Stephen  Price, 
Adoniram  Pritten,  John  Quill,  Joseph  Rose,  John  Sline- 
man,  Peter  Smith,  Isaiah  Tuttle,  John  Tway,  Isaac 
AVard,  David  Watson,  John  White,  Richard  Williamson, 
Morris  Wooden. 

The  diary  of  Timothy  Tuttle,  a  sergeant  in  the  fiirst 
battalion  in  Captain  Joseph  Morris's  company,  has  been 
preserved  and  has  been  printed.  In  it  his  daily  doings 
are  recorded  from  before  January  ist  1776  until  he  ar- 
rived at  Albany  on  his  way  home,  November  12th.  From 
this  it  appears  that  he  and  his  comrades  arrived  at 
Albany  May  Sth,  after  an  eight  days'  sail,  and  marched 


from  there  to  Lake  George,  where  they  arrived  May  22nd. 
On  the  26th  of  May  they  arrived  at  Crown  Point,  which 
they  left  on  the  28th  in  boats  for  St.  John.  From  there 
they  marched  up  the  Sorell  River,  and  on  the  Sth  of  June 
were  under  fire  of  the  enemy's  cannon.  They  were  en- 
camped on  the  Sorell  until  the  14th,  when  they  began  a 
retreat  to  Crown  Point,  which  they  reached  on  the  24lh. 
They  remained  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point  until  November  6th,  when  Tuttle,  with  105 
of  the  men  of  his  battalion,  left  for  home  with  General 
Winds.  Recruiting  had  begun  for  the  second  establish- 
ment, which  was  enlisted  for  three  years  or  during  the 
war,  and  many  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  first  estab- 
lishment remained  and  were  mustered  into  the  second 
establishment.  Tuttle  notes  under  date  of  November 
5th:  "Same  morning  our  men  seemed  to  persist  to  go 
home,  and  orders  came  out  from  the  general  that  Col- 
onel Winds  and  what  men  is  a  mind  to  follow  him  to  be 
off  to-morrow  morning  at  8  o'clock.  Some  of  officers 
say  we  go  away  with  scandal,  but  Colonel  Winds  says 
[we]  go  with  honor."  Sergeant  Tuttle  was  afterward  en- 
sign and  lieutenant  in  the  Morris  militia,  and  later  a  cap- 
tain in  Colonel  Sylvanus  Seeley's  eastern  battalion  of 
Morris  militia. 

These  three  Jersey  regiments  of  the  firtt  establishment 
did  some  hard  service  in  this  campaign,  none  the  easier 
to  endure  because  the  movement  was  unsuccessful  in 
that  it  did  not  accomplish  what  was  hoped  for  it.  A 
committee  of  the  New  Jersey  Provincial  Congress  by 
direction  of  that  body  went  to  Crown  Point,  and  there 
reviewed  the  Jersey  troops  October  25th.  They  re- 
ported that  they  "found  the  soldiers  destitute  of  many 
articles  of  dress;  supplies  of  every  kind  they  want,  but 
shoes  and  stockings  they  are  in  the  last  necessity  for, 
many  hiiving  neither  to  their  feet."  They  believed  the 
troops  were  well  furnished  with  provisions,  and  that  they 
had  plenty  of  arms.  "  Respecting  the  disposition  of  the 
officers  to  engage  in  the  service"  (meaning  to  re-enlist),  the 
commissioners  say,  "  It  is  with  the  greatest  cheerfulness 
the  most  of  the  officers  are  ready  on  your  appointment 
to  serve  their  country  during  the  war." 

Somewhat  similar  to  the  experience  of  later  years.  Con- 
gress found  in  the  summer  of  1776  that  troops  enlisted  for  a 
short  time  would  not  suffice  to  bring  the  war  to  a  success- 
ful termination.  Accordingly,  September  i6th  1776,  a 
resolution  was  adopted  that  eighty-eight  battalions  be 
enlisted  as  soon  as  possible,  to  serve  during  the  war,  and 
that  New  Jersey  furnish  four  battalions. 

The  State  Legislature  appointed  a  joint  committee  to 
take  the  matter  into  consideration,  who  recommended 
that  the  first  three  of  the  new  battalions  be  formed  of  the 
officers  and  men  of  the  three  batalions  then  in  the  field, 
so  far  as  they  were  willing  to  re-enlist;  and  that  the  offi- 
cers of  the  fourth  battalion  be  made  up  as  much  as  pos- 
sible from  the  five  regiments  of  militia  then  serving  under 
General  Heard.  This  recommendation  was  adopted,  and 
the  three  battalions  in  the  field  formed  the  nucleus  of  the 
first  three  battalions  of  the  new  establishment. 

In  the  first  battalion,  Colonel  Winds   having   retired 


COMPANIES  OF  CONTINENTALS— THEIR  SERVICES. 


29 


Silas  Newcomb  and,  on  his  promotion,  Matthias  Ogden 
was  made  colonel.  Major  William  De  Hart  continued  in 
service  and  was  made  lieiUenant  colonel  on  the  promotion 
of  Ogden.  Joseph  Morris  remained  as  captain  of  the 
first  company  (until  made  major  of  the  battalion),  with 
John  Mercer,  formerly  first  lieutenant  of  Captain 
Howell's  company,  as  first  lieutenant;  Robert  Robertson 
(who  afterward  resigned  on  account  of  wounds)  as  second 
lieutenant  and  Simon  Mash  as  ensign. 

Silas  Howell  remained  as  captain  of  the  second  com- 
pany, with  John  Van  Anglen  (afterward  captain)  as  first 
lieutenant,  Archibald  Dallas  (formerly  of  Meeker's  com- 
pany) as  second  lieutenant  and  John  Howell  (afterward 
captain)  as  ensign. 

Captain  Meeker  went  home  at  the  end  of  his  enlist- 
ment. His  lieutenant,  Giles  Mead, 'remained  as  lieuten- 
ant of  the  third  company,  commanded  by  Captain  John 
Conway  (afterward  major  of  the  fourth  battalion);  John 
Flanhaven  was  second  lieutenant  and  Ebenezer  Axtell 
was  ensign  of  this  company. 

Captain  Peter  Dickerson's  company  seem  to  have  re- 
enlisted  in  a  body  and  formed  the  first  company  of  tlie 
third  battalion.  The  lieutenants  and  ensign  having  quit 
th€  service  their  places  were  filled  by  others.  Samuel 
Flanagan  was  first  lieutenant  until  promoted  to  a  cap- 
taincy; Jonathan  Brewer  second  lieutenant,  and  Edward 
D.  Thomas  ensign  until  made  first  lieutenant.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  enlisted  men  of  Captain  Dickerson's  first 
company  the  following  were  members  of  this  his  new 
company  :  Thomas  Beedle,  Josiah  Beetle,  David  Brown, 
Jonathan  Conkling,  George  Corwine,  James  Crane,  John 
Cugo,  Thomas  Cugo,  Cornelius  Drake,  Simeon  Hatha- 
way, John  Henry,  James  Joy,  Conrad  Kingfield,  Jasper 
Langley,  Enos  Little,  Abram  Ludlow,  Archibald  McNich- 
ols,  Solomon  Munson,  John  Panton,  John  Price,  Conrod 
Runyan,  John  Tuttle,  and  William  Tuttle. 

In  an  affidavit  made  by  Henry  Clark  in  order  to  obtain 
a  pension  (preserved  with  others  by  Hon.  Lewis  Condict), 
he  says  he  enlisted  at  Mendham  in  January  1776  for 
three  years,  in  Captain  Noadiah  Wade's  company,  with 
Abram  Hudson,  Stephen  Leonard,  Stephen  Frost,  John 
Doughty,  William  Minthorn,  Isaac  Stark,  William  Brown, 
John  Payne  and  others  whom  he  does  not  recollect. 
Zophar  Carnes  was  first  lieutenant,  John  Pipes  second 
lieutenant  and  Clement  Wood  ensign.  Wood  and  Wade 
lived  in  Mendham,  Carnes  in  Roxbury,  and  Pipes  in  what 
was  then  Pequannock.  The  company  consisted  of  60 
men,  and  was  filled,  the  membership  being  as  follows: 

Captain,  Noadiah  Wade;  lieutenants,  Zophar  Carnes 
(cashiered  April  i6th  1777)  and  J»to  JPipf^s,  promoted 
first  lieutenant  June  ist  1777.  Second  lieutenant,  Ben- 
jamin Horn.  Ensign,  Clement  Wood.  Sergeants: 
Robert  Logan,  John  Browne,  Shadrack  Hathaway  and 
Abram  Hudson.  Corporals:  Stephen  Harriman,  Ichabod 
Johnson,  Richard  Hedley  and  Jonathan  Starks.  Drum- 
Kier,  John  Cornelius.  Fifer,  WiUiam  Stone.  Privates: 
Adam  Showers,  Nathaniel  Petty,  George  Clifton,  Levi 
Shadwick  or  Shaddock,  Samuel  Freeman,  Wilham  Mun- 
son, Jesse  Rodgers,.  Samuel  Davis,  Philip  Minthorn, 
Abram  Mulct,  Henry  Blum,  Jonathan  Bailey,  Gabriel 
Hutchings,    Nathaniel     Thompson,     Price    Thompson, 


Abram  Losey,  Robert  Carson,  Philip  Hathaway,  Lewis 
Alvord,  John  Potter,  John  Doughty,  David  Mott,  Richard 
McGuire,  William  Finley,  Ichabod  Homans,  Daniel 
Parks,  Joseph  Richards,  Eleazer  Perkins,  Michael  Hayes, 
John  Davis,  Benjamin  Losey,  Robert  Hine,  Charles 
Clarkson,  Stephen  Leonard,  William  Brown,  Robert 
Minnis,  Thaddeus  Rice,  Samuel  Smith,  Daniel  Tuttle, 
Samuel  Hazle,  Jeremiah  Day,  David  Mumford,  Joseph 
Pipes,  Stephen  Frost,  John  Frost,  Job  Stiles,  Jonathan  Mc- 
Laughlin, John  Williams,  David  Carter,  Henry  Dugan, 
Josiah  Wynne,  Benjamin  Eaton,  Dominick  Hughs,  Isaac 
Dickinson,  John  Milbiirne,  John  Woodcock,  John  Col- 
lins, Henry  Clark,  James  Channel,  John  Stewart,  Jona- 
than Crane,  Dennis  Cargriff,  Thomas  Perry,  Joshua 
Pearce,  John  Berry,  William  Minthorn,  James  Knox, 
John  Hardcastle,  Alexander  Campbell,  Thomas  Day, 
Benjamin  Thorp,  Thomas  Rial,  Charles  Blumfield, 
Ephraim  Cary,  Andrew  Phillips. 

The  company  was  mustered  June  12th  i777»  and 
marched  to  Westfield,  where  it  was  reviewed  by  Colonel 
Martin.  It  was  the  third  in  the  fourth  battalion  second 
establishment. 

Besides  those  mentioned  there  were  many  other  Morris 
county  men  in  this  brigade.  John  Doughty  was  captain 
of  a  company  in  the  third  battalion,  promoted  major,  and 
resigned,  probably  to  enter  the  artillery  arm  of  the  ser- 
vice, in  which  he  afterward  distinguished  himself. 

The  four  regiments  were  ready  for  the  field  early  in 
1777,  the  first  battalion  being  organized  as  early  as  De- 
cember 1776,  the  second  and  third  in  February  and  the 
fourth  in  April  1777.  They  were  brigaded  together  and 
placed  under  command  of  General  William  Maxwell, 
forming  what  was  known  as  "  Maxwell's  brigade."  It  ^ 
was  placed  in  the  division  of  Major-General  Adam 
Stephens,  then  encamped  at  Elizabethtown,  Bound  Brook 
and  Rahway.  The  following  extract  from  General  Stry- 
ker's  history  of  Jerseymen  in  the  Revolutionary  army 
shows  the  part  these  battalions  took  in  the  war: 

"  During  the  summer  of  1777  the  division  of  General 
Stephens  marched  through  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware, 
and  on  the  morning  of  September  nth  a  portion  of  the 
'Jersey  line'  opened  the  battle  of  Brandywine.  They 
continued  in  the  fight  all  that  day,  on  the  advance  of  the 
division.  After  the  battle  the  brigade  continued  march- 
ing and  countermarching,  had  a  skirmish  with  the  enemy 
at  White  Horse  Tavern,  on  the  Lancaster  road,  passed 
near  Yellow  Springs,  Reading  Furnace,  Worcester,  and 
then  towards  the  enemy,  and  finally  encamped  at  Ger- 
mantown.  A  battle  took  place  at  this  post  on  the  4th 
of  October.  With  the  brigade  of  North  Carolina  troops 
commanded  by  Brigadier  General  Francis  Nash,  Max- 
well's brigade  formed  the  corps  de  reserve  and  left  wing 
of  the  American  army.  This  division  was  commanded 
by  Major  General  Lord  Stirling,  of  New  Jersey.  The 
whole  command  distinguished  itself  in  this  fight,  but 
especially  the  first  battalion,  which  suffered  severely  in " 
both  officers  and  men.  Maxwell's  brigade  was  most  of 
the  winter  of  1777-8  with  the  army  at  Valley  Forge,  and 
on  the  evacuation  of  Philadelphia  by  the  British,  June 
i8th  1778,  was  detached  from  the  main  army,  and  with 
some  militia  was  ordered  to  harass  and  impede  General  . 
Clinton's  force.  The  British  army  marched  towards 
New  York  by  way  of  Moorestown  and  Mount  Holly. 
The  army  under  Washington  crossed  the  Delaware  River 
at  Coryell's  Ferry  (Lambertville),  and  passed  through 
Hopewell,  Princeton,  Kingston,  Cranberry  and  English- 
town,  and  met   the  enemy  near  Freehold.     Maxwell's 


3° 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


brigade  was  afterwards  joined  by  six  hundred  continental 
troops,  commanded  by  Colonel  Daniel  Morgan,  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  again  by  fifteen  hundred  picked  troops  under 
Brigadier  General  Charles  Scott,  of  Virginia,  and  one 
thousand  under  Brigadier  General  Anthony  Wayne,  of 
Pennsylvania.  The  entire  force  engaged  in  harassing 
the  enemy  was  in  command  of  General  Lafayette.  On 
the  28th  of  June  1778  the  'Jersey  line'  joined  the  left 
wing  of  the  army,  and  the  brigade,  as  well  as  the  militia 
under  Major  General  Philemon  Dickinson,  participated 
in  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  fought  on  that  day.  The 
brigade  after  the  fight  was  sadly  in  want  of  clothing,  and 
many  and  urgent  were  the  requests  made  therefor  to  the 
Legislature." 

The  following  is  a  list  of  recruits  raised  in  the  ist 
regiment  foot  militia,  commanded  by  Colonel  John  Mun- 
son,  in  Morris  county,  who  were  to  serve  nine  months 
from  the  day  of  their  joining  any  of  the  four  regiments 
raised  by  the  State  for  the  service  of  the  United  States. 
They  joined  the  Jersey  brigade  June  5th  1778,  at  Mount 
Holly,  and  no  doubt  participated  in  the  battle  of  Mon- 
mouth: 

Captain  Luse's  Company,  2nd  Regiment — Aaron  Bai- 
ley, John  Clawson,  William  Cooper,  John  Hamler,  Jacob 
Hinckle,  Spencer  Lake,  Michael  Pace  jr.,  Benjamin  and 
John  Parr  and  John  Smith,  of  Roxbury:  Matthew  Con- 
ner, James  Gibson,  Hiram  Howard  (unfit  for  duty  on 
account  of  a  wound),  James  Jordan  and  Andrew  Mc- 
Roath,  of  Mendham. 

Captain  Cox's  Company,  3d  Regiment — William  Mapes, 
Roxbury;  Joseph  Bedford,  Elijah  Leonard  and  Reuben 
Wood,  Mendham;  Elihu  Howard  and  Eleazer  Perkins, 
Pequannock. 

Captain  Ballard's  Company,  3d  Regiment — Elkanah 
Holloway,  Lemuel  Twigley  and  Eleazer  Woodruff,  Mend- 
ham; Timothy  Morris,  Roxbury. 

Others — Andrew  Conard  and  John  Turney,  Penn.,  de- 
serted; Jabez  Bigalow,  Mendham,  drum  major  3d  regi- 
ment; James  Kenebough,  Pequannock,  Captain  Patter- 
son's company,  3d  regiment;  Moses  Losey,  Mendham; 
Stephen  Leonard,  of  Pequannock,  and  Stephen  Arnold, 
of  Mendham,  Captain  Morrison's  company,  ist  regiment; 
William  Halsey,  Hanover,  Captain  Baldwin's  company, 
ist  regiment;  David  Sargent,  enlisted  in  the  continental 
service. 

"  The  above  recruits  marched  from  William  Young's, 
Esq.,  in  Mendham  township." 

The  winter  of  1778-9  was  passed  mostly  at  Elizabeth- 
town,  although  a  detachment  of  the  second  battalion  was 
stationed  in  Newark,  and  a  detachment  of  the  fourth 
battalion  in  Spanktown  (Rahway). 

In  consequence  of  the  "massacre  of  Wyoming  "  Max- 
well's brigade  on  the  nth  day  of  May  1779  was  ordered, 
with  the  first  or  principal  division,  under  Major  General 
John  Sullivan,  of  New  Hampshire,  to  march  up  the  Sus- 
'  quehanna  into  the  settlements  of  the  Seneca  Indians. 
Attached  to  the  brigade  at  this  time  were  Colonel  Oliver 
Spencer's  regiment.  Colonel  David  Forman's  regiment. 
Colonel  Elisha  Sheldon's  (of  Connecticut)  regiment  of 
light  dragoons,  and  one  battery  of  artillery.  On  the  9th 
of  October  the  brigade  was  ordered  to  return  to  New 
Jersey. 

On  the  23d  of  June  1780  the  Jersey  troops,  continental 
and  militia,  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  fight  at  Spring- 
field. 


May  27th  1778  Congress  made  a  new  arrangement  of 
troops,  consolidating  the  battalions  and  reducing  the 
number  of  field  and  other  officers.  March  9th  1779  it 
was  resolved  that  the  army  should  consist  of  eighty  bat- 
talions, of  which  the  Jersey  troops  should  form  three. 
This  new  arrangement  was  not  finally  consummated  until 
the  summer  of  1780.  In  this  new  and  last  establishment 
Matthias  Ogden  was  colonel  of  the  ist  regiment,  Israel 
Shreve  of  the  2nd  and  Elias  Dayton  of  the  3d. 

Recruits  for  the  regiments  of  the  continental  line  in 
the  field  were  again  obtained  from  the  State  militia,  and 
the  following  lists  have  been  preserved  of  these  new  lev- 
ies: 

"  A  return  of  recruits  from  the  eastern  regt.  of  the 
county  of  Morris,  commanded  by  Colonel  Sylvanus  See- 
ley;  mustered  and  past  to  serve  in  the  State  regiment 
until  ye  ist  of  January  next,  agreeable  to  a  law  of  s'd 
State  passed  at  Trenton  7th  June  1780."  (After  the 
man's  name  come  his  place  of  abode  and  the  name  of 
the  captain  of  the  company  to  which  he  belonged.  All 
enlisted  in  the  first  week  of  July.) 

Joseph  Wade,  Long  Hill,  Layton;  Gilbert  Bunnell, 
Chatham,  Carter;  Thomas  Stagg,  Parsippany,  Bald- 
win; Daniel  Simers,  Pequannock,  Minard;  William  Gar- 
ret, Hanover,  S.  Munson;  Jesse  Wood,  Short  Hill, 
Kitchel;  John  Harparie,  Bottle  Hill,  J.  Ward;  Abraham 
Gobel,  Morristown,  Pearson;  John  Garrison,  Pompton, 
Debow;  John  Robarts,  Troy,  J.  Ward;  Daniel  Bates, 
Pequannock,  Minard;  Isaac  Ross,  Short  Hill,  Layton; 
John  Parrott,  Morristown,  Jos.  Beach;  Gershom  Liver, 
Morristown,  Stephen  Munson;  George  Gardner,  Morris- 
town, W.  Munson;  Asa  Beach,  Morristown,  Beach; 
Thomas  Johnston  (light  horseman),  Morristown,  Arnold; 
Wriglit  Reading,  Chatham,  Ward;  John  Lasier,  Pomp- 
ton,  J.  Ward;  David  Parrott,  Pompton,  Debow;  Eb. 
McDonald,  Chatham,  Carter;  Conrod  Esler,  Pequan- 
nock, Minard;  Benjamin  Romer,  Pompton,  Arnold; 
Samuel  Price,  Troy,  J.  Ward;  Samuel  Seward,  Rocka- 
way.  Keen;  Sylvanus  Johnston,  Rockaway,  Hall;  John 
Lane,  Rockaway,  Hall. 

"A  return  of  recruits  from  the  eastern  regiment  of 
Morris  county,  commanded  by  Colonel  Sylvanus  Seeley; 
mustered  and  approved  to  join  the  New  Jersey  brigade 
until  ist  of  January  next,  under  act  passed  June  14th 
1780.  All  enlisted  between  June  27th  and  July  20th 
1780."  The  company  is  indicated  by  the  name  of  the 
captain,  following  that  of  the  recruit: 

James  Richardson,  Chatham,  Carter;  Moses  Broad- 
well,  Morristown,  Carter;  Dunham  Wilkerson,  Morris- 
town, M.  Munson;  Jesse  Crane,  Hanover,  S.  Munson; 
Daniel  Gould,  Troy,  J.  Ward;  Daniel  T.  Bunnell,  Mor- 
ristown, M.  Munson;  Amos  Crane,  Parsippany,  Baldwin; 
Cornelius  McDermott,  Elizabethtown,  Layton;  Anthony 
Palmer,  Hanover,  S.  Munson;  Martin  Mitchell,  Troy, 
Ward;  Daniel  Wilcocks,  Long  Hill,  Layton;  Philip 
Lunney,  Chatham,  J.  W'ard;  Isaac  Garrigus,  Rockawav, 
Hall;  John  Abnir  (?),  Rockaway,  Hall;  Benjamin  Romer, 
Morristown,  J.  Beach;  Abraham  Ludlum,  Morristown, 
L.  Pearson;  Robert  McClean,  Hanover,  Kitchel;  Daniel 
Bates,  Hanover,  Minard;  Thomas  Brannon,  Morristown, 
Beach;  George  Cheshenounds,  Morristown,  Beach; 
Samuel  Price,  Pequannock,  Du  Bois. 

"  List  of  bounties  paid  by  Jonathan  Stiles  jr.  on  re- 
cruiting service  according  to  an  act  of  March  nth  1780." 


OFFICERS  IN  THE  "JERSEY  LINE." 


31 


The  bounty  paid  was  ;^i,ooo  to  the  soldiers  and  ;£2oo 
to  their  officer.  In  some  instances  half  those  amounts 
were  paid.  They  were  mustered  by  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Benoni  Hathaway  and  joined  their  companies  in  the 
continental  line  between  March  30th  and  May  4th  1780. 
The  residence  of  some  of  these  rnen  is  found  in  a  return 
of  the  same  men  made  by  Colonel  Hathaway,  and  is  given: 

Paul  Rheam,  Morristown;  John  Moor;  Isaac  Johnson, 
Andrew  Thompson  and  George  Carter,  Morristown;  Da- 
vid Gordon,  Windsor  Johnson,  Joseph  Yates,  James  Der- 
rick and  Moses  Headley,  Hanover;  James  Ceaser,  Sus- 
sex county;  Isaac  Wooley,  John  Williams  and  Watson 
Ludlum,  Morristown;  Robert  Miller,  Bernard's; 'William 
Wood,  Sussex  county;  Moses  and  Jacob  BroadweU, 
Morristown;  Paul  Clutter  and  James  Wigan  (or  Wagen), 
Bernard's;  John  Beaufort  (or  Bellfort),  Sussex  county; 
Michael  Coffee,  Morristown;  Thomas  McMurtree;  Isaac 
Ross,  Bernard's;  Isaac  Price;  Abraham  Emmis;  William 
Smith;  Thomas  Smith;  William  Worth;  Henry  Carragan, 
Morristown;  John  Jacobus  and  Jesse  Losey,  Roxbury; 
Jacob  Cahoon,  Samuel  Ogden,  Ezekiel  Price,  James 
Jones,  Richard  Hugg,  George  Smith,  Thomas  Reiler, 
Abraham  Gaskall,  Henry  Flantan,  Zechariah  Rossel, 
Nathan  Turner,  George  Laney,  Michael  Wood,  Henry 
Moore,  John  Darwin,  Reuben  Mickel,  Jedediah  Mills, 
Jonathan  Bailey,  Elias  Wood  and  Annanias  Clark.  Dan- 
iel Kiney  is  on  Colonel  Hathaway's  list  and  not  on 
Colonel  Stiles's. 

General  Maxwell  continued  to  command  the  Jersey 
brigade  until  he  resigned,  in  July  1780.  Colonel  Elias 
Dayton,  as  senior  officer,  then  assumed  command,  and 
retained  it  until  the  close  of  the  war.  On  the  21st  of 
September  1781  the  three  regiments  landed  on  James 
River,  Virginia,  about  five  miles  from  Williamsburgh,  and 
they  were  employed  in  all  the  labor  of  the  siege  of  York- 
town  and  were  present  at  the  surrender  on  the  19th  of 
October. 

The  news  of  the  cessation  of  hostilities  was  announced 
in  the  camp  of  the  brigade  April  19th  1783,  and  the 
"Jersey  line  "  were  discharged  November  3d  1783. 

During  the  summer  and  fall  of  1776  soldiers  of  this 
State,  as  officers  or  enlisted  men,  began  to  join  organiza- 
tions raised  directly  by  authority  of  Congress  or  of  other 
States.  Men  from  Morris  county  were  found  particular- 
ly in  two  of  these  regiments,  known  as  Spencer's  regi- 
ment and  the  commander-in-chief's  guard. 

By  authority  of  Congress  Colonel  Oliver  Spencer,  an 
officer  in  the  State  troops  as  well  as  in  the  militia,  organ- 
ized a  battalion  or  regiment  for  the  continental  army 
about  the  time  the  second  establishment  was  completed. 
Composed  as  it  was,  nearly  if  not  entirely  of  Jerseymen, 
it  is  often  referred  to  as  the  "  fifth  battalion,  Jersey  line." 
The  strength  of  this  command  appears  to  have  been 
about  170  men,  although  a  return  dated  March  1779 
shows  but  14c  soldiers  in  the  regiment.  The  following 
is  a  roster  of  its  officers: 

Oliver  Spencer,  colonel;  Eleazer  Lindsley,  lieutenant- 
colonel  (resigned  and  William  Smith  was  appomted); 
John  Burrowes,  captain  and  major;  James  Bonnell,  ad- 
jutant; John  McEwen,  ensign  and  quartermaster;  Jabez 
Campfield,  surgeon;  John  Darcy,  surgeon's  mate;  Benja- 
min Weatherby,  captain;  James  Brodenck,  captain;  John 
Sandford,  captain;  William  Bull,  captain;  William  Crane, 


captain;  Abraham  Nealy,  captain;  Archibald  Dallas, 
captain;  Anthony  Maxwell,  lieutenant  and  captain;  Rob- 
ert Pemberton,  lieutenant  and  captain;  James  Bonnell, 
lieutenant,  adjutant  and  captain;  David  Kirkpatrick, 
lieutenant  and  captain;  John  Orr,  lieutenant;  Peter 
Taulman,  lieutenant;  Finch  Gildersleeve,  lieutenant;  Wil- 
liam Sitcher,  lieutenant;  Uzal  Meeker,  lieutenant;  Barne 
Ogden,  lieutenant;  Andrew  Thomson,  ensign;  John 
Reed,  ensign;  Moses  Ogden,  ensign. 

Colonel  Oliver  Spencer,  who  commanded  this  regiment, 
was  the  son-in-law  of  Robert  Ogden,  who  was  a  member 
of  the  Continental  Congress  of  1765  and  chairman  of  the 
committee  of  safety  in  1776,  and  was  a  brother-in  law  of 
Robert  Ogden  jr.  (prominent  and  zealous  in  the  councils 
of  the  State  and  in  advancing  means  to  assist  its  cause), 
of  Colonel  Matthias  Ogden,  of  the  first  regiment,  and  of 
Captain  (afterward  Governor)  Aaron  Ogden.  One  of  his 
daughters,  Elizabeth,  married  Ebenezer  Blachly,  and 
another,  Sophia,  married  Major  Mahlon  Ford,  prominent 
men  in  this  county. 

Jabez  Campfield,  surgeon  of  the  regiment,  was  a  res- 
ident of  Morristown,  and  for  many  years  after  the  close 
of  the  war  surrogate  of  the  county.  During  Sullivan's 
expedition  against  the  Seneca  Indians  Dr.  Campfield  kept 
a  diary,  which  has  been  published  by  the  New  Jersey 
Historical  Society  in  the  third  volume  of  its  proceedings, 
New  Series,  and  in  which  a  detailed  account  of  the  move- 
ments of  the  troops  is  given.  The  doctor  left  Morristown 
to  join  the  regiment  May  23d  1779,  and  returning  ar- 
rived at  his  own  house  October  2nd. 

John  Darcy,  surgeon's  mate,  was  afterward  a  prominent 
physician  of  Hanover,  and  particularly  successful  as  a 
surgeon.  He  commanded  a  brigade  of  militia  in  the  war 
of  1812.  He  was  the  father  of  General  John  S.  Darcy, 
of  Newark.  He  was  at  this  time  under  nineteen  years  of 
age,  and,  having  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Campfield, 
accompanied  him  to  the  war.  Dr.  Wickes,  in  a  sketch  of 
Dr.  John  Darcy,  in  his  history  of  the  medical  men  of 
New  Jersey,  says:  "The  regiment  with  which  he  was 
connected  was  in  the  army  under  immediate  command  of 
General  Washington,  concerning  whom  and  General 
Lafayette  the  doctor  during  his  life  related  to  his  friends 
niany  incidents  of  interest  which  occurred  while  he  was 
associated  with  these  distinguished  generals.  When 
Lafayette  visited  this  country  in  1825  he  inquired  par- 
ticularly after  'young  Surgeon's  Mate  Darcy;'  and  when 
on  a  certain  occasion  he  was  introduced  to  a  relative  of 
the  doctor's  the  general,  attracted  by  the  name  and  being 
informed  of  the  relationship  to  his  old  friend,  embraced 
him  cordially." 

The  commander-in-chief's  guard,  continental  army, 
called  also  "the  life  guard"  and  "  Washington's  body 
guard,"  was  a  distinct  organization  of  picked  men.  It 
consisted  of  180  men,  and  its  first  officer  was  Caleb  Gibbs, 
of  Rhode  Island,  captain,  commandant.  William  Colfax, 
of  Pequannock  township,  was  a  lieutenant  at  the  organ- 
ization, and  was  the  successor  of  Gibbs,  ranking  as  cap- 
tain. The  soldiers  were  all  selected  from  the  ranks  of 
the  army,  their  good  character  and  soldierly  bearing 
being  a  prerequisite  to  their  receiving  this  honor.  Every 
State  was  represented  in  the  "  guards."  Its  motto  was 
"  Conquer  or  Die." 


32 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER  V. 


MORRIS  COUNTY  MILITIA  IN  THE  REVOLUTION — INCIDENTS 
OF  THE  WAR. 


HE  militia  organizations  are  not  to  be  con- 
fused with  the  troops  of  the  continental 
army.  The  act  of  the  Provincial  Congress 
regulating  the  militia  passed  August  i6th 
177s  provided  for  two  regiments  and  one 
battalion  for  Morris  county;  and,  "minute  men" 
having  been  raised  in  the  counties  of  Morris, 
Sussex  and  Somerset,  Congress  followed  the  suggestion 
and  recommended  all  the  counties  to  do  the  same.  The 
two  regiments  of  militia  were  called  the  eastern  and 
western  battalions.  Morris  county  was  to  have  six  com- 
panies of  minute  men,  who  were  held  in  constant  readi- 
ness on  the  shortest  notice  to  march  to  any  point  where 
assistance  might  be  required.  They  were  to  furnish 
themselves  with  "'a  good  musket  or  firelock  and  bayonet, 
sword  or  tomahawk,  a  steel  ramrod,  worm,  priming  wire 
and  brush  fitted  thereto,  a  cartouch  box  to  contain  23 
rounds  of  cartridges,  twelve  flints,  and  a  knapsack." 
Each  man  was  to  keep  at  his  house  one  pound  of  powder 
and  three  of  bullets.  Many  of  these  minute  men  having 
joined  the  continental  army,  on  the  29th  of  February 
.1776  they  were  dissolved  as  a. separate  organization,  and 
incorporated  in  the  militia. 

The  following  notes,  taken  from  the  "Boteler  Papers," 
show  the  organization  and  officers  of  the  Morris  county 
minute  men: 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  committee  of  the  county  of 
Morris,  at  the  house  of  Captain  Peter  Dickerson,  at 
Morristown,  on  Thursday  the  14th  day  of  September 
A.  D.  1775  (present,  William  Winds,  Esq.,  William  De 
Hart,  Esq.,  Silas  Condit,  Ellis  Cook,  Peter  Dickerson, 
Jonathan  Stiles,  Esq.,  Jacob  Drake),  the  committee, 
having  inspected  and  examined  the  several  muster  rolls, 
6  companies  of  minute  men  of  the  county  of  Morris, 
and  finding  that  a  sufficient  number  of  minute  men  as  is 
directed  by  the  Congress  have  enlisted,  do  recommend 
to  the  committee  of  safety  or  the  Provincial  Congress  of 
New  Jersey  the  following  officers  to  be  commissioned,  to 
wit: 

"William  Winds,  Esq.,  as  colonel;  William  De  Hart, 
Esq.,  as  lieutenant-colonel;  Mr.  David  Bates,  as  major; 
Mr.  Joseph  Morris,  as  adjutant;  Mr.  Timothy  Johnes, 
as  surgeon. 

"Of  the  first  company:  Captain,  Samuel  Ball;  first 
lieutenant,  Daniel  Baldwin;  second  lieutenant,  Moses 
Kitchel;  ensign,  David  Tuttle. 

.  "Of  the  second  company:  Captain,  Silas  Howell;  first 
lieutenant,  Joseph  Lindsley;  second  lieutenant,  Richard 
Johnston. 

"Third  company:  Captain,  David  Thompson;  first 
lieutenant,  Noadiah  Wade;  second  lieutenant,  Isaac 
Morris;  ensign,  Samuel  Day. 

"Fourth  company:  Captain,  Ebenezer  Condit;  first 
lieutenant,  Benoni  Hathaway;  second  lieutenant,  Moses 
Prudden;  ensign,  Joseph  Beach. 

"  Fifth  company:   Captain,  Jacob  Drum;  first  lieuten- 


ant,  Joshua   Gordon;    second  lieutenant.   Levy  Howel; 
ensign,  Caleb  Horton  jr. 

"Sixth  company:  Captain,  Robert  Gaston;  first  lieu- 
tenant, Josiah  Hall." 

It  is  probable  from  the  names  of  these  officers  that  the 
first  company  was  raised  in  the  Hanover  neighborhood, 
the  second  in  Madison  and  Morristown,  the  third  in 
Mendham,  the  fourth  in  Morristown,  the  fifth  in  Roxbury 
and  the  sixth  in  Rockaway. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  officers  of  the  battalion  of  minute 
men  of  the  county  of  Morris,  on  Thursday  the  14th  day 
of  September,  A.  D.  1775.  Present:  William  De  Hart, 
Captain  Ebenezer  Condict,  Lieutenant  Moses  Prudden, 
Ensign  Caleb  Horton,  Ensign  Richard  Johnston,  Ensign 
Samuel  Day,  Lieutenant  Noadiah  Wade,  Captain  Samuel 
Ball,  Lieutenant  Moses  Kepore,  Captain  Jacob  Drum, 
Lieutenant  Josiah  Hall,  Lieutenant  Daniel  Baldwin,  Lieu- 
tenant Joseph  Lindsley,  Captain  Silas  Howell,  Ensign 
David  Tuttle,  Lieutenant  Benoni  Hathaway. 

"  William  De  Hart,  Esq.,  was  chosen  moderator,  Jacob 
Drum  clerk.  '  Voted  unanimously  that  we  will  nominate 
to  the  committee  three  field  officers  and  an  adjutant, 
which  field  officers  when  commissioned  we  will  freely 
serve  under.  William  Winds  was  unanimously  recom- 
mended as  colonel;  William  De  Hart,  Esq.,  was  unani- 
mcpusly  recommended  as  lieutenant-colonel;  Mr.  David 
Bates  was  recommended  as  major;  Joseph  Morris  was 
recommended  as  adjutant. 

"  The  foregoing  is  an  account  of  our  proceedings  this 
day,  which  we  humbly  offer  to  the  committee  of  the 
county  of  Morris,  and  desire  their  recommendation  of 
those  officers  therein  nominated  to  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress or  committee  of  safety  of  New  Jersey  to  be  com- 
missioned." 

In  June  1776  the  Continental  Congress  requested  the 
colony  of  New  Jersey  to  furnish  3,300  militia,  to  form 
part  of  13,800  to  reinforce  the  army  at  New  York. 
Colonel  Nathaniel  Heard  was  appointed  brigadier  gen- 
eral to  command  these  levies,  which  were  to  consist  of 
five  battalions.  Morris  and  Sussex  were  to  furnish  one 
of  these  battalions,  and  the  regimental  officers  were: 
Ephraim  Martin,  colonel;  John  Munson,  lieutenant- 
colonel;  Cornelius  Ludlow,  major;  Joseph  King,  adju- 
tant; Joshua  Gordon,  quartermaster;  Jonathan  Horton, 
surgeon;  David  Ervin,  surgeon's  mate. 

Lieutenant-colonel  Munson  lived  near  Rockaway,  on 
the  Hibernia  road,  and  was  engaged  in  the  iron  business. 
He  was  afterward  colonel  of  the  "  western  battalion  "  of 
Morris.  Major  Ludlow  had  been  first  major  of  the 
"eastern  battalion"  of  Morris.  Surgeon  Horton  had 
been  surgeon  of  the  ''western  battalion"  of  Morris,  and 
was  afterward  a  surgeon  in  the  continental  army. 
General  Heard's  brigade  in  September  1776  numbered 
160  officers  and  1,762  enlisted  men. 

On  the  i6th  day  of  July  1776  Congress  requested  the 
convention  of  New  Jersey  to  supply  with  militia  the 
places  of  two  thousand  men  of  General  Washington's 
army,  who  had  been  ordered  to  march  into  New  Jersey 
to  form  the  flying  camp.  On  the  i8th  of  July  an  ordi- 
nance -was  passed  detaching  that  number  from  the 
militia  for  that  purpose.  It  was  resolved  that  the  two 
thousand  militia  should  compose  four  battalions,  con- 
sisting of    thirty  companies,   of   sixty-four  men   each. 


MILITIA  ORGANIZATION— THE  BATTLE  OF   SPRINGFIELD. 


33 


They  were  only  to  be  held^for  one  month  from  the  time 
of  their  joining  the  flying  camp. 

One-half  of  the  militia  were  ordered  to  be  detached 
August  nth  1776,  and  called  out  for  immediate  service, 
to  be  relieved  by  the  other  half  every  month.  One  di- 
vision of  the  militia,  detached  from  every  organization  in 
the  State,  was  ordered  to  march  with  all  dispatch  to  join 
the  flying  camp,  for  one  month's  service.  The  second 
division  was  held  ready  to  relieve  them,  to  be  itself  re- 
lieved in  turn.  On  this  basis  of  monthly  classes  in 
active  service  the  militia  were  held  during  the  continuance 
of  the  war. 

An  act  for  better  regulating  the  militia  was  passed 
March  15th  1777.  It  organized  the  force  more  strictly 
than  formerly,  and  defined  the  duties  and  powers  of  of- 
ficers, etc.  The  organization  was  still  further  improved, 
and  the  last  ordinance  was  repealed  by  an  act  of  April 
14th  1778.    This  also  divided  the  militia  into  two  brigades. 

On  the  8th  of  January  1781  the  militia  were  formed  into 
three  instead  of  two  brigades.  Those  "  of  the  counties 
of  Bergen,  Essex,  Morris  and  Sussex,  and  of  those  parts 
of  the  counties  of  Middlesex  and  Somerset  lying  on  the 
northern  and  eastern  side  of  the  Raritan  River,  and  of  the 
south  branch  of  the  same,"  were  to  compose  the  upper 
brigade. 

The  governor  of  the  State,  June  27th  178:,  was  author- 
ized to  call  out  a  part  of  the  militia,  and  continue  them 
in  service  three  months,  for  the  purpose  of  co-operating 
with  the  continental  army.  Such  men  were  exempted 
from  service  for  nine  months  next  ensuing. 

Companies  of  artillery  and  troops  of  horsemen  from 
time  to  time  organized  in  sundry  townships  or  cities,  by 
direction  of  the  governor  or  by  special  law  enacted  by 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  State. 

General  Stryker  well  says:  "  The  good  service  per- 
formed by  the  militia  of  this  Stale  is  fully  recorded  in 
history.  At  the  fights  at  Quinton's  Bridge,  Hancock's 
Bridge,  Three  Rivers,  Connecticut  Farms  and  Van 
Neste's  Mills  they  born  an  active  part;  while  at  the  bat- 
tles of  Long  Island,  Trenton,  Assunpink,  Princeton,  Ger- 
mantown,  Springfield  and  Monmouth  they  performed 
efficient  service  in- supporting  the  continental  line." 

The  eastern  battalion,  Colonel  Jacob  Ford  jr.  com- 
manding, was  detailed  to  cover  Washington's  retreat 
across  New  Jersey  after  the  evacuation  of  New  York  in 
1776 — a  service  which  was  accomplished  with  honor  and 
success.  The  campaign  was  known  among  the  troops  as 
"mud  rounds." 

The  most  considerable  engagement,  however,  in  which 
the  New  Jersey  militia  were  concerned  was  the  battle  of 
Springfield,  where  the  attempt  of  Knyphausen  to  reach 
Morristown  was  met  and  foiled  principally  by  militia.  An 
excellent  account  of  this  battle  is  contained  in  the  follow- 
ing letter  to  the  governor  from  General  Maxwell,  who 
commanded  the  New  Jersey  brigade: 

"  Jersey  Camp,  near  Springfield, 

14th  June  1780. 
"  Diar  Goxiernor, 

"You  will  find  by  the  inclosed  that  I  had  written  to 


your  excellency  on  the  6th  inst.  The  person  who  was 
to  have  delivered  it  halted  at  Elizabethtown,  and  before 
daylight  was  alarmed.  We  were  alarmed  also  by  12 
o'clock,  and  had  marched  near  your  house  when  intelli- 
gence was  received  that  the  enemy  were  landing  in 
force,  with  artillery  and  dragoons,  and  that  their  num- 
ber would  be  at  least  5,000.  I  thought  Elizabethtown 
would  be  an  improper  place  for  me.  I  therefore  retired 
toward  Connecticut  Farms,  where  Colonel  Dayton  joined 
me  with  his  regiment.  I  ordered  a  few  small  parties  to 
defend  the  defile  near  the  farm  meeting-house,  where 
they  were  joined  and  assisted  in  the  defense  by  some 
small  bodies  of  militia.  The  main  body  of  the  brigade 
had  to  watch  the  enemy  on  the  road  leading  to  the  right 
and  left  toward  Springfield,  that  they  might  not  cut  off 
our  communications  with  his  excellency  General  Wash- 
ington. Our  parties  of  continental  troops  and  militia  at 
the  defile  performed  wonders.  After  stopping  the  ad- 
vance of  the  enemy  near  three  hours  they  crossed  over 
the  defile  and  drove  them  to  the  tavern  that  was  Jere- 
miah Smith's;  but  the  enemy  were  at  that  time  reinforced 
with  at  least  1,500  men,  and  our  people  were  driven  in 
their  turn  over  the  defile  and  obliged  to  quit  it.  I,  with 
the  whole  brigade  and  militia,  was  formed  to  attack  them 
shortly  after  they  had  crossed  the  defile,  but  it  was 
thought  imprudent,  as  the  ground  was  not  advantageous 
and  the  enemy  very  numerous.  We  retired  slowly 
toward  the  heights  toward  Springfield,  harassing  them  on 
their  right  and  left,  till  they  came  with  their  advance  to 
David  Meeker's  house,  where  they  thought  proper  to 
halt.  Shortly  after  the  whole  brigade,  with  the  militia, 
advanced  their  right,  left  and  front  with  the  greatest 
rapidity,  and  drove  their  advance  to  the  main  body.  We 
were  in  our  turn  obliged  to  retire,  after  the  closest  action 
I  have  seen  this  war.  We  were  then  pushed  over  the 
bridge  at  Springfield,  where  we  posted  some  troops,  and 
with  the  assistance  of  a  field-piece  commanded  by  the 
militia  the  enemy  were  again  driven  back  to  their  former 
station,  and  still  further  before  night.  Never  did  troops, 
either  continental  or  militia,  behave  better  than  ours  did. 
Every  one  that  had  an  opportunity  (which  they  mostly 
all  had)  vied  with  each  other  who  could  serve  the  coun- 
try most.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  day  the  militia 
flocked  from  all  quarters,  and  gave  the  enemy  no  respite 
till  the  day  closed  the  scene.  At  the  middle  of  the 
night  the  enemy  sneaked  off  and  put  their  backsides  to 
the  sound  near  Elizabethtown.  Our  loss  was  one  ensign 
killed  and  three  lieutenants  wounded,  seven  privates 
killed,  twenty-eight  wounded  and  five  missing.  The 
militia  lost  several  and  had  a  number  wounded.  We 
have  good  reason  to  believe,  from  the  number  of  dead 
left  on  the  ground,  and  from  the  information  of  many  of 
the  inhabitants  where  they  had  their  dead  and  wounded, 
that  they  lost  three  times  the  number  we  did.  General 
Stirling  is  among  their  wounded  and  thought  to  be  dan- 
gerous, with  Count  Donop  killed,  a  son  or  nephew  of  the 
general  who  met  the  same  fate  at  Red  Bank.  I  am 
credibly  informed  that  47  of  the  enemy  dead  were  found 
the  next  day  scattered  through  the  woods  and  fields,  be- 
side those  whom  they  themselves  had  buried  and  carried 
off  the  first  day.  The  main  body  of  the  enemy  now  oc- 
cupy the  ground  by  the  old  point  and  De  Hart's  house. 
Their  advanced  parties  are  as  far' as  the  Elizabethtown 
bridge. 

"  I  am,  with  much  respect  and  esteem,  your  Excellency's 
most  obedient  humble  servant, 

"Wm.  Maxwell." 

The  following  is  a  roster  of  the  field  and  staff  of  the 
two  Morris  county  battalions,  first  organized  in  1775,  but 
reorganized  in  1776. 


34 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


Eastern  Battalion. — Colonels:  Jacob  Ford  jr.,  Nov. 
27th  1776;  died  of  pneumonia  at  Morristown,  N.  J.,  Jan. 
loth  1777,  and  was  buried  with  military  honors  by  order 
of  General  Washington.  Ellis  Cook;  lieutenant-colonel 
Jan.  13th  1776;  lieutenant-colonel  "  detached  militia," 
July  i8th  1776;  colonel,  Feb.  ist  1777;  resigned  Nov. 
6th  1777.  Sylvanus  Seeley;  captain  in  Colonel  Martin's 
regiment  June  14th  1776;  first  major  eastern  battalion 
May  23d  1777;  colonel  Nov.  13th  1777. 

Lieutenant-Colonels:  Cornelius  Ludlow;  first  major 
Jan.  13th  1776;  major  in  Martin's  battalion  June  14th 
1776;  lieutenant-colonel  May  23d  1777;  resigned  Nov. 
13th  1777,  disabled.  Eleazer  Lindsley;  second  major 
Jan.  i3tli  1776;  lieutenant-colonel  1777;  also  lieutenant- 
colonel  continental  army.  Benoni  Hathaway;  captain  in 
eastern  battalion;  second  major  ditto  Sept.  9th  1777; 
lieutenant-colonel  ditto  Nov.  13th  1777;  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  Van  Dyke's  regiment  Oct.  9th  1779. 

First  Majors:  Richard  Johnson;  captain  Eastern  bat- 
talion; first  major  Nov.  13th  1777;  resigned.  Daniel 
Brown;  captain  in  eastern  battalion;  first  major  Mch. 
27th  1776. 

Second  Majors:  Henry  Axtell;  resigned,  Joseph 
Lindsley,  Mch.  27th  1778. 

Adjutant,  John  Doughty,  Jan.  13th  1776. 

Quartermaster,  Frederick  King. 

Surgeon,  Timothy  Johnes,  Feb.  19th  1776. 

Western  Battalion.— QoXontW.  Jacob  Drake;  resigned 
to  become  member  of  General  Assembly.  William  Winds, 
Nov.  30th  1776;  brigadier-general  of  militia  Mch.  4th 
1.777;  resigned  June  loth  1779;  also  colonel  ist  battalion 
ist  establishment  continental  army.  John  Munson; 
lieutenant-colonel  in  Colonel  Martin's  regiment  June 
14th  1776;  colonel  western  battalion  May  15th  1777. 

Lieutenant-Colonels:  Robert  Gaston,  May  isth  1777; 
resigned.  John  Starke;  second  major  May  isth  1777; 
lieutenant-colonel  Oct.  7th  1778;  resigned  May  23d. 
1782.  Nathan  Luse;  captain;  lieutenant-colonel  June 
2ist  1782. 

First   Major:    Samuel    Sears    (or   Sayres),    May    isth 

1777- 

Second  Majors:  Daniel  Cook;  promoted  from  captam 
Sept.  29th  1781;  resigned  May  23d  1782.  Jacob  Shuler, 
June  2ist  1782. 

Quartermasters:  Mahlon  McCurry  and  Matthew  Mc- 
Courrey. 

Surgeon:  Jonathan  Horton,  Feb.  28th  1776;  also  sur- 
geon in  Colonel  Martin's  battalion  June  29th  1776,  and 
surgeon  continental  army. 

Besides  the  staff  officers  named  in  the  above  rosters 
there  were  from  Morris  county  the  following  staff  officers: 
Constant  Victor  King,  ensign,  lieutenant  and  adjutant; 
Cornelius  Voorhees,  ensign,  adjutant  and  commissary  of 
issues;  Zebedee  Cook,  quartermaster;  Jacob  Arnold, 
John  Stiles  and  Jonathan  Stiles,  paymasters;  Barnabas 
Budd,  surgeon  in  General  Winds's  brigade,  September 
12th  1777. 

The  following  were  captains  of  militia,  but  the  com- 
pany, and  in  some  cases  the  battalion,  to  which  they  be- 
longed cannot  now  be  ascertained.  The  letter  E  or  W 
following  the  name  shows  whether  the  man  belonged  to 
the  eastern  or  western  battalion: 

Job  Allen,  W.  and  E.;  Jacob  Arnold,  E.,  also  captain 
of  a  troop  of  light  horse;  Stephen  Baldwin,  E.;  Elisha 
Barton,  E.;  David  Bates,  E.;  Augustine  Bayles,  E.;  Wil- 
liam Bayley,  E.;  Joseph  Beach,  E.,  April  19th  1777; 
Enoch  Beach;  Abner  Bedell;  John  Bigelow'  William 
Brittin,   E.;  Job  Brookfield  (also  ensign);  Ezra  Brown; 


William  Campfield;  Zophar  Games,  W.,  first  lieutenant 
continental  army;  Benjamin  Carter,  E  ;  Samuel  Carter, 
E  •  Hugh  Colwall,  E.  (also  lieutenant);  Ezekiel  Crane, 
w'-  Jacob  Crane,  E.;  Joshua  Crane,  E.;  Josiah  Crane, 
E  •'  Artemas  Dav,  W.;  Stephen  Day,  E.;  John  De  Bow, 
E  •  Thomas  Dickerson,  W.;  Peter  Dickmson;  Jacob 
Drum  (also  captain  in  Colonel  Stewart's  battalion  of 
minute  men,  February  isth  1776);  Abner  Fairchild,  E.; 
Elijah  Freeman;  Jacob  Card,  W.;  Robert  Gaston  (also 
captain  in  continental  army);  George  Hager,  W.;  Josiah 

Hall,  E.  (of  Denville);  Isaac  Halsey,  E.;  Harris, 

E.;  Samuel  Hinman,  E.;  Caleb  Horton,  W.:  Nathaniel 
Horton,  W.;  Stephen  Jackson;  James  Keen,  E.;  Thomas 
Kinney;  Obadiah  Kitchel,  E.;  Matthew  Lane,  E.,  also 
lieutenant;  Peter  Layton,  E.;  John  Lindsley,  E.,  also 
lieutenant;  William  Logan,  also  lieutenant,  W.;  Benjamin 

Minard,  E.;  Morris,  W.;  Moses  Munson,  E.,  also 

forage  master;  Stephen  Munson,  E.,  also  lieutenant; 
Samuel  Ogden;'  John  Oliver,  E.;  Samuel  Oliver,  E.; 
Garret  Post;  William  Salmon,  W.;  Peter  Salmon,  W.; 
■   Slaight,  W.,  also  lieutenant;  Peter    Slingerland, 


Tieuter 


E.,  also  TTeutenant;  James  Stewart,  W.;  Uriah  Sutton, 
also  lieutenant;  Peter  Tallman,  W.;  Nathaniel  Terry, 
W.  (also  lieutenant);  Jacob  Theiiar;  David  Thompson; 
Timothy  Tuttle,  ensign  August  6th  1777,  captain  April 
2nd  1781;  Israel  Ward,  E.;  Jonas  Ward,  E.  (also  cap- 
tain Essex  Co.,  of  Parsippany);  Jonathan  Ward,  E.; 
William  Welch,  W.;  Joseph  Wright,  E. 

The  following  were  lieutenants  from  Morris  county 
(battalion  indicated  by  E  or  W,  as  above): 

Aaron  Biglow,  W.;  George  Bockover,  E.  (also  in  Sus- 
sex county);  Caleb  Crane;  John  Crane,  first  lieutenant, 
E.,  April  19th  1777,  in  Captain  Beach's  company;  Wil- 
liam Fairchild;  Phineas  Farrand,  Captain  Minard's  com- 
pany, E.;  Ezra  Halsey,  E.;  Matthias  Harris,  W.;  Giles 
Lee^  first  lieutenant;  Paul  Lee  (also  wagon  master); 
Edward  Lewis;  Benjamin  Lindsley,  second  lieutenant, 
E.,  April  19th  1777,  Captain  Beach's  company;  Eleazer 
Luse,  W.;  Howell  Osborn,  W.;  J.  Osborn,  E.;  Thomas 
Osborn,  E.,  Captain  Baldwin's  company;  John  Pipes, 
first  lieutenant,  Heard's  brigade,  June  i6th  1776,  also 
continental  army;  Abraham  Post,  E.;  Matthew  Raynor, 
E.;  John  Robarts,  E.;  Simon  Van  Ness,  E.  (Captain 
De  Bow's  company);  Christopher-  Walmsley,  E.;  D. 
Wilson;  Josiah  Ward. 

The  following  were  ensigns: 

Samuel  Allen,  April  19th  1777,  Captain  Beach  s  com- 
pany; Josiah  Burnett,  E.,  wounded  in  leg  at  Elizabeth- 
town,  September  isth  1777;  Joshua  Guerin,  E.;  James 
Lum;  Abraham  Rutan,  E.,  Captain  Layton's  company; 
Martin  Tichenor,  E.,  Captain  Baldwin's  company. 

An  independent  organization,  which  was  raised  en- 
tirely in  the  county,  and  won  for  itself  an  enviable  dis- 
tinction for  its  long  and  faithful  service  and  brilliant 
achievements,  was  the  company  known  as  Arnold's  Light 
Horse.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  original  enlist- 
ment paper  of  this  command: 

"  We  the  subscribers  do  voluntarily  enlist  ourselves  in 
the  comjjany  of  light  horse  belonging  to  the  county  of 
Morris,  Thomas  Kinney,  Esq.,  captain,  and  do  promise 
to  obey  our  officers  in  such  service  as  they  shall  appoint, 
as  agreeable  to  the  rules  of  the  Provincial  and  Continenal 
Congress.  Witness  our  hands  May  loth  1775.  Jacob 
Arnold,  James  Serring,  Epenetus  Beach,  James  Smith, 
Silas  Stiles,  Patrick  Darcy,  John  Losey,  Benjamin  Free- 
man jr.,  Samuel  Allen,  Stephen  Baldwin,  Elijah  Freeman, 
David  Edmiston,  John  Crane,  George  O'Hara,  Silas 
Hand,  Jabez  Tichenor,  Jabez   Beach,  Robert  Gould  jr.. 


ARNOLD'S  LIGHT  HORSE— REVOLUTIONARY  ANECDOTES. 


35 


James  Ford,  Samuel  Denman,  Peter  Parret,  George 
Minthorn,  John  Cook,  Samuel  Bolsbury.  Adam  Bosts, 
John  Milen,  Conrod  Hopler,  Abraham  Ha'haway,  John 
Winters,  Samuel  Wighton,  John  "Van  Winker,  Aaron 
Parsons." 

Captain  Kinne)'  shortly  afterward  resigned  and  Arnold 
took  his  place.  While  the  above  list  shows  the  original 
members  of  the  company  there  were  many  others  who 
joined  it  afterward.  John  Blowers,  Ephraira  Carnes,  J. 
C.  Canfield,  Joseph  Butler,  John  Canfield  and  John 
Ester  are  named  as  some  of  these  recruits.  Blowers  in 
an  afifidavit  found  among  the  "  Condict  papers,"  before 
referred  to,  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  men  who  composed 
this  force,  and  of  the  services  they  performed.  He  says 
he  served  first  under  Captain  Jacobus: 

"  The  company  of  militia  was  drawn  up  to  have  a  draft 
made  from  them  to  join  the  troops  on  Long  Island. 
Blovvers  stepped  forward,  saying  he  would  not  be  drafted 
but  would  volunteer,  and  was  at  once  followed  by  Samuel 
Farrand,  John  Ester,  Philip  Price  and  as  many  more  as 
were  required  of  the  company.  Jacobus  had  command. 
They  were  marched  through  Newark  to  New  York, 
where  they  were  six  weeks  laying  up  works,  after  which 
they  were  marched  to  Amboy,  where  there  were  other 
Jersey  militia. 

"  On  his  return  home,  finding  militia  duties  likely  to 
be  frequent,  he  joined  Arnold's  force.  Ste|)hen  Baldwin 
was  a  trooper  there  and  did  duty  as  a  sergeant — an  active 
and  good  soldier.  The  whole  company,  except  when 
the  enemy  were  strong  and  in  case  of  sudden  alarm,  was 
not  often  together,  but  was  divided  and  subdivided 
— two,  -four,  five,  eight,  ten,  etc.,  together — as  circum- 
stances required.  AVere  often  used  as  videttes  to  watch 
the  movements  and  carry  orders  and  tidings  of  the 
enemy.  To  tr<rin  and  discipline,  were  often  assembled. 
Each  man  found  his  own  horse  and  equipments.  Knew 
Baldwin  in  service  every  month  during  the  first  two 
years.  Troop  lay  at  Morristown  when  Lee  was  made 
prisoner  at  Basking  Ridge.  Had  his  horse  stolen  from 
him  at  Parsippany,  and  the  man  who  brought  tidings  of 
Lee's  capture  to  Morristown  rode  it  and  Blowers  recov- 
ered it.  Blowers  and  a  part  at  least  of  the  troop  served 
at  Millstone,  Second  River,  on  Raritan  River,  at  Spring- 
field, Connecticut  Farms  (where  Hessians  were  taken, 
early  in  the  war),  at  Elizabethtown  often,  at  Newark,  and 
Aquacknunk.  He  was  in  the  battles  of  SpringSeld  and 
Monmouth.  In  winter  '76-7,  when  Winds  lay  at  Van 
Mullinen's  near  Quibbletown,  he  was  stationed  on  the 
Raritan  at  the  house  of  one  Ten  Eyck.  Did  duty  at 
Trenton  and  Princeton  carrying  orders.  At  Hackensack 
had  like  to  have  been  taken  prisoner  near  a  British  fort 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Hackensack.  The  troop  did  not 
do  duty  by  monthly  turns,  as  infantry,  but  were  in  con- 
stant watchful  duty  as  videttes  and  express  carriers  to 
the  end  of  the  war." 

In  the  minutes  of  the  Provincial  Congress  there  is 
mention  made  of  an  appropriation  to  Thomas  Kinney  for 
expenses  in  escorting  Governor  Franklin  to  Connecticut 
— a  service  exceedingly  hazardous. 

From  these  Condict  papers  many  interesting  facts  con- 
cerning the  services  of  the  militia  and  the  frequency  with 
which  they  were  called  out  can  be  gathered.  Take  for 
example  the  affidavits  of  James  Kitchel,  who  entered  the 
service  at  the  request  of  his  father,  Abraham  Kitchel, 
Esq.,  August  I  St  1776,  when  but  seventeen  years  old, 
under  Captain  Isaac  Halsey,  in  Colonel  Ford's  regiment. 


He  marched  first  to  Elizabethtown,  where  he  remained 
until  he  was  taken  sick  and  brought  home  by  his  friends, 
being  gone  in  all  four  months.  He  enlisted  under  Cai)- 
tain  Josiah  Hall  in  January  1777,  for  three  months, 
when  the  British  lay  at  New  Brunswick,  and  was  stationed 
at  Quibbletown.  He  was  in  several  engagements  at  Ash 
Swamp,  Woodbridge,  Quibbletown  and  other  places.  He 
served  one  month  under  Captain  Charles  Ogden  in  the 
summer  of  1779,  and  lay  guarding  the  lines  at  Pompton 
and  building  a  fort  there.  One  month  he  served  under 
Captain  Stephen  Jackson,  at  Elizabethtown,  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1777;  one  and  a  half  months  under  Captain 
Joseph  Beach,  guarding  Morris  jail,  when  twenty-one 
men  were  confined  there  under  sentence  of  death,  and 
two  were  hung  by  Sheriff  Carmichael.  In  the  fall  of  1777 
he  served  under  Captain  John  Bigelow,  near  Hackensack, 
and  was  in  the  attack  upon  a  British  fort  at  Pollyfly 
under  General  Winds.  In  1779  he  served  at  Elizabeth- 
town,  Blazing  Star  and  Trembly 's  Point,  during  the  sum- 
mer and  fall,  under  Captain  Bates,  Colonel  Thomas  and 
General  Williamson.  In  1780  he  served  at  Elizabethtown 
one  month,  under  Captain  Horton. 

Henry  Wick  (on  whose  farm  the  Revolutionary  army 
encamped  in  1780-81}  was  at  one  time  captain  of  a  Morris 
county  company  of  cavalry,  which  did  good  service  dur- 
ing the  war.  He  was  frequently  detailed  as  guard  of 
Governor  Livingston  and  of  the  privy  council.  At  one 
time  near  Camptown  one  of  the  members  of  the  Provincial 
Congress,  Caleb  Camp,  was  surprised  by  a  party  of 
British  infantry  at  his  own  home,  and  while  he  was  de- 
liberating as  to  the  possibility  of  getting  to  his  horse  in 
the  barn,  and  so  away,  Captain  Wick's  company  charged 
in  upon  them  and  put  the  enemy  to  flight,  though 
superior  in  numbers.  The  dead  were  found  for  three 
miles  in  the  course  of  their  flight. 

From  Dr.  Tutlle's  "  Revolulionary  Fragments,"  pub- 
lished about  thirty  years  since  in  the  Sentinel  of  Freedom, 
we  take  these  incidents  of  the  war: 

Mrs.  Eunice  Pierson,.  daughter  of  Abraham  Kitchel, 
stated  to  the  doctor  that  her  uncle,  Aaron  Kitchel,  was 
peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the  tories,  and  that  on  several 
occasions  attempts  were  made  to  capture  him.  She  said 
that  a  price  was  laid  on  his  head.  To  one  scene  she 
was  an  eye  witness.  One  dark  night  the  family  was  sur- 
prised by  the  entrance  of  several  noted  tories,  com- 
pletely armed.  There  could  be  no  mistake  about  their 
intentions,  and  high  words  ensued,  in  which  Mr.  Kitchel 
gave  them  to  understand  that  he  was  not  afraid  of  them. 
At  last,  cooling  down  a  little,  they  asked  for  cider,  and 
he  treated  them  liberally.  In  the  meantime  Mrs.  Kitchel, 
with  real  womanly  shrewdness,  perceiving  that  no  time 
was  to  be  lost,  pushing  her  little  niece,  Eunice,  toward 
the  bedroom  door,  said,  aloud,  "This  is  no  place  for 
you;  you  must  go  to  bed."  She  followed  her  into  the 
room,  closed  the  door  and  raised  the  Avindow;  Eunice 
was  lifted  out  and  told  to  hurry  as  fast  as  her  feet  would 
carry  her  to  her  grandfather's  house,  some  rods  distant, 
and  tell  Jiim  to  come  up  with  all  the  help  he  could 
muster.     "  I  tell  you,  I  was  a  great  coward  in  the  dark 


36 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


in  those  squally  times,"  said  the  old  lady,  "  and  I  was 
not  long  in  going."  Fortunately  three  of  his  sons  were 
with  the  grandfather,  and  the  tories,  waking  up  sud- 
denly to  the  sense  of  their  having  been  caught  napping, 
took  to  their  heels. 

^  David  Gordon,  who  lived  to  a-  very  great  age  and  was 
for  many  years  sexton  of  the  Rockaway  Presbyterian 
church,  was  in  the  service,  and  among  the  many  anec- 
dotes he  told  was  the  following  account  of  a  march  his 
company  made  to  Newark  from  Morristown  —  a  fine 
illustration  of  the  democracy  of  the  times,  even  among 
soldiers,  and  also  the  power  of  proper  motives!  The 
captain  halted  his  company  and  thus  addressed  them- 
"  Brother  soldiers,  we  must  get  to  Newark  to-night,  and 
we  cannot  do  it  and  march  in  a  body.  Let  every  man 
make  his  way  as  best  he  can,  and  if  we  get  there  each 
one  of  you  shall  have  half  a  gill  of  rum  for  tea."  "  Oh, 
captain,"  roared  his  followers,  "  call  it  a  gill,  and  then 
we  can  do  it !"  "Well,  a  gill  it  shall  be,  then,"  said  the 
captain;  "but  halt  when  you  get  this  side  of  Newark, 
and  let  us  march  into  town  as  brother  soldiers  should, 
together  and  in  order  !"  The  march  was  accordingly 
accomplished  by  each  "on  his  own  hook,"  and  the 
valiant  captain  had  the  pleasure  of  entering  Newark  at 
the  head  of  his  company  in  the  "  brother  soldier"  way. 
In  the  night  the  men  were  roused  up  and  embarked  in 
boats,  and  were  rowed  down  the  Passaic  in  perfect 
silence.  They  landed  on  the  salt  meadows  and  marched 
up  to  a  little  village,  probably  Bergen.  The  object  of 
this  expedition  Dr.  Tuttle  inferred  to  have  been  to  break 
up  a  gang  of  tories,  some  of  whom  were  captured  ^nd 
carried  to  Morristown. 

Among  the  incidents  of  the  battle  of  Springfield  was  a 
disagreement  between  General  Heard  and  Colonel  Hath- 
away, the  latter  accusing  his  superior  of  having  unne- 
cessarily retired  from  the  field.  The  following  is  a 
verbatim  copy  of  the  charges  he  preferred,  which  shows 
that  the  gallant  colonel  could  use  his  sword  probably 
better  than  his  pen: 

"  Morristown,  15  July,  1780. 
"  To  his  Exelencey  the  Governor — 

"  I  send  you  in  Closed  Severel  charges 
which  I  Charg  B.  D.  Haird  with  while  he  comanded  the 
Militare  Sum  Time  in  june  Last  at  Elizebeth  Town 
farms  which  I  pray  His  Exilency  would  Call  a  Court  of 
inquiry  on  these  Charges  if  his  Exilency  thinkes  it  worth 
notising  from  your  Hum 

Ser 
Benoni  Hathaway 
"  To  exilencey  the  Governor  Lut.  Coll." 

"  This  Is  the  Charges  that  I  bring  against  General 
Haird  While  he  Comanded  the  Militia  at  Elizabethtown 
farms  sum  time  in  Jun  last  1780. 

"  I  Charg  is  for  leaving  his  post  and  Marching  the 
Trups  of  their  post  without  order  and  Leaving  that  Pass 
without  aney  gard  between  the  Enemy  and  our  Armey 
without  giving  aney  notis  that  Pass  was  open  Between 
three  and  fore  Ours.  2  Charg  is  Retreating  in  Disorder 
Before  the  Enemy  without  ordering  aney  Reqr  gard  or 
flanks  out  leading  of  the  Retreat  Him  Self.  3  Charg  is 
for  marching  the  Trups  of  from  advantiges  peace  of 
ground  wheare  we  mit  Noyed  them  much   and  Lickley 


prevented  thear  gaining  the  Bridge  at  Fox  Hall  had  not 
the  Trups  Bin  ordered  of  which  prevented  our  giving  our 
armey  aney  assistence  in  a  Time  of  great  Destris. 

"  4  Charg  is  for  marching  the  Trups  of  a  Boat  one 
mile  from  aney  part  of  the  Enemy  and  Taken  them  upon 
an  Hy  mountan  and  kept  them  thear  till  the  Enemy  had 
gained  Springfeald  Bridge. 

"List  of  Evidence:  Coll  Van  Cortland,  Wra.  Skank 
the  Brigad  Major,  Capt.  Benjman  Cartur,  Capt.  Nathanal 
Norton,  Adjt  Kiten  King,  Major  Samuel  Hays,  Leutnant 
Backover." 


Dr.  Ashbel  Green,  son  of  Dr.  Green  of  Hanover,  and 
afterward  president  of  Princeton  College,  was  a  volunteer 
in  the  Morris  county  militia,  and  served  under  General 
Heard  when  he  was  left  with   three   brigades  to  guard 
New  Jersey;  Washington,  with   the  main   army,  having 
gone   up  to  West   Point.     In  his  biography  is  a   very 
graphic  account  of  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  drive  the 
enemy  from   Elizabethtown   Point,   undertaken  under  a 
very  false  impression  as  to   their  numbers.     The  militia 
behaved  with  great  steadiness,  advancing  under  a  heavy 
artillery  fire,  and  only  showed  want  of  discipline  in  firing 
at  some  redcoats  who  were  being  brought  in  as  prison- 
ers, supposing  them  to  be  the  enemy  advancing  in   force. 
He  stated  that  his  colonel,  who  was  a  very  brave  but  a 
very  profane  man,  rode  forward  and  backward  before  his 
regiment,  and  in  a  loud  voice  threatened  to  kill  the  first 
man  who  should  fire  another  gun  until  he  gave  the  order. 
Mr.  Green  contrasts  the  conduct  of  his  colonel  with  that 
of  his  captain,  Enoch  Beach,  who  was  a  deacon  in  his 
father's  congregation,  and  a  man  of  distinguished  piety. 
He  stood  before  his  company  with  the  greatest   calmness 
and  composure,  and  scarcely  spoke  at  all,  unless  it  was 
to  drop  now  and  then  a  word  of  encouragement  to  his 
men  while  they  were  waiting  orders  to  advance.     The 
troops  were  drawn  off  in  good  order  by  moving  the  mil- 
itia in  such  a  way  as  to  give  the  enemy  the  idea  that  an 
attack  was  to  be  made  in  another  quarter.     The  enemy's 
numbers  were  far  superior  to  those  of  General  Heard. 

There  were  some  tories  in  the  county,  and  they  did 
great  damage  to  the  people;  not  by  their  acts  of  open 
hostility,   but  by  murdering  and  plundering,  mostly  at 
night  and  in  small  gangs.     The  party  led  by  the  infamous 
Claudius   Smith   was  as  much  dreaded  as    any.     At  one 
time    thirty-five  of  these  men   were   confined  in  Morris 
jail.     Two  of  them,  Iliff  and  Mea,  were  hung,  and  the 
remainder  were  branded  in  the  hand  and  released.     Those 
of  the  more  respectable  citizens  who  espoused  the  royal 
cause  left  the  country  and  their  estates  were  confiscated. 
Alexander  Carmichael  and  Aaron  Kitchel,    as  commis- 
sioners, advertised  for  sale  on  Tuesday  March  30th  1779, 
at  the  house  of  Jacob  Arnold,   in   Morristown,  the  real 
estate  of  Thomas  Millidge,  Stephen  Skinner,  John  Troop, 
John    Steward,    Ezekiel    Beach,    Joseph    Conlifi^,    John 
Thornburn,    Asher    Dunham,    Richard   Bowlsby,   Philip 
Van   Cortland,  Samuel  Ryerson,  Jacob    Demarest,  Isaac 
Hornbeck,  William   Howard  and  Lawrence  Buskirk,  an 
inquisition  having  been  found  and  final  judgment  entered 
against  them.     These  men  were  the  prominent  loyalists 
of  the  county.     Millidge  had  been  elected  sheriff  and 


AFTER  THE  REVOLUTION. 


37 


but  for  his  political  sympathies  would  have  been  much 
respected  and  deservedly  so. 

The  women  of  Morris  county  were  not  at  all  behind 
the  men  in  their  patriotism  and  in  genuine  sacrifices  for 
their  country.  They  nobly  sustained  and  encouraged 
their  fathers,  brothers,  husbands  and  sons  in  their  work; 
and  in  the  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  in  manufactur- 
ing clothing  for  the  destitute,  and  in  tilling  the  soil  while 
the  men  were  in  the  ranks,  they  contributed  their  full 
share  to  the  good  cause.  The  story  of  Anna  Kitchel,  of 
Whippany,  sister  of  Captain  Timothy  Tuttle  and  wife 
of  Uzal  Kitchel,  is  well  known.  Being  urged  by  a  timid 
deacon  to  procure  a  British  protection  she  told  him, 
"  Having  a  husband,  father  and  five  brothers  in  the 
American  army,  if  the  God  of  battles  do  not  care  for  us 
we  will  fare  with  the  rest  !" 


CHAPTER    VI. 


RECOVERING     FROM     THE    REVOLUTION — MORRIS     COUNTY 
MEN    IN    THE    WAR    OF    l8l2. 


>  HE  war  left  the  people  of  the  colonies  in  a 
dreadfully  impoverished  state.  Many  who 
had. been  wealthy  when  the  war  broke  out 
were  reduced  to  poverty.  Officers  and  men 
.  returned  to  their  homes  with  very  little  but  the 
glory  of  their  achievements  to  console  or  support 
them.  The  money  issued  by  authority  of  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  was  so  depreciated  as  to  be  practically 
worthless.  The  pressure  from  the  outside  which  had 
kept  the  colonies  united  and  made  the  general  govern- 
ment respected  was  now  withdrawn,  and  the  sense  of 
having  delivered  themselves  from  the  control  of  a  power- 
ful foreign  nation  made  men  independent  in  feeling  and 
impatient  of  restraint.  The  country  was  in  more  danger 
in  1783  than  in  1776,  and  the  posterity  of  that  genera- 
tion have  reason  to  be  more  grateful  for  the  good  sense 
of  the  men  of  that  day,  which  led  them  to  unite  in  the 
formation  of  a  constitution  and  in  agreeing  to  live  by  it, 
than  to  their  courage  and  self-sacrifice  in  the  struggle  with 
Great  Britain,  great  as  that  courage'  and  self-sacrifice 
were.  But  not  only  was  danger  of  anarchy  and  confu- 
sion to  be  dreaded.  The  war  had  had  a  demoralizing 
effect  upon  officers  and  men.  The  restraints  of  religion 
had  become  irksome,  infidelity  had  made  rapid  progress 
and  intemperance  had  greatly  increased.  It  is  the  uni- 
versal report  of  the  decade  next  succeeding  the  peace 
that  the  state  of  morals  and  religion  which  then  prevailed 
was  most  alarming,  and  Morris  county  was  no  exception 
to  the  general  rule.  It  was  the  day  of  Paine's  ''  Age  of 
Reason,"  which  found  a  soil  well  adapted  to  it  in  the 
minds  of  men  flushed  with  victory  and  restive  under 
control.  Previous  to  the  war  liquors  were  imported  from 
abroad,  and  were  used  in  comparative  moderation.     After 


the  peace  distilleries  were  found  established  in  all  parts 
of  the  country,  and  drunkenness  prevailed  to  an  extra- 
ordinary extent  and  among  all  classes  of  people.  Some 
particular  industries  had  been  unduly  stimulated,  others 
had  been  abandoned;  and  it  was  several  years  before 
business  became  readjusted  and  the  old  order  of  things 
resumed. 

But  the  people  of  Morris  county  were  in  many  respects 
fortunate.  The  enemy  had  not  devastated  their  fields  or 
burned  their  dwellings.  They  had  every  element  of  wealth 
in  themselves,  and  they  were  not  long  in  turning  their 
attention  to  developing  the  resources  they  possessed.  Be- 
fore the  end  of  the  century  the  county  had  grown  wonder- 
fully. Forges  and  mills  were  built  or  rebuilt  on  the  many 
streams.  Houses  of  a  more  comfortable  and  pretentious 
style  took  the  place  of  the  log  cabins  which  had  been  the 
usual  habitations  of  the  people.  New  lands  were  cleared 
and  better  roads  made.  In  1794  a  great  revival  of  re- 
ligion swept  over  the  country,  to  be  succeeded  by  other 
revivals  in  1806  and  1818.  Schools  were  established 
throughout  the  country,  and  high  schools  at  Morristown 
where  young  men  were  fitted  for  college.  Newspapers 
were  published,  the  first  one  in  Chatham  in  1781,  called 
The  New  Jersey  Journal,  by  Shepherd  KoUock,  a  refugee 
from  Elizabethtown;  afterward,  in  1797,  the  Morris 
County  Gazette,  and  in  1798  the  Genius  of  Liberty,  at 
Morristown. 

In  1780  the  funeral  of  Jacob  Johnson,  in  Morristown, 
drew  together  a  large  concourse  of  people,  who  followed 
the  remains  from  beyond  Speedwell  to  the  old  church. 
In  this  procession  there  was  but  one  vehicle,  and  that 
was  used  for  carrying  the  body.  All  the  rest  were  on 
foot  or  on  horseback.  Dr.  Johnes  and  the  attending 
physicians,  each  with  a  linen  scarf  around  his  shoulders, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  times,  led  the  procession 
on  horseback. 

In  the  diary  of  Joseph  Lewis,  a  wealthy  citizen  of 
Morristown,  son-in-law  of  Dr.  Johnes  and  clerk  of  the 
county,  is  the  entry:  July  23d  1784-— "Robert  Morris, 
Esq.,  set  out  for  Brunswick,  being  one  of  the  committee 
appointed  to  meet  committees  from  other  counties  to 
consult  and  devise  some  plan  for  establishing  trade  and 
commerce  at  Amboy."  What  came  of  this  project  is 
unknown.  Elizabethtown  no  doubt  continued  to  be  the 
shipping  point  for  this  county  until  Newark  was  made 
nearer  by  its  better  means  of  communication. 

In  this  same  diary,  under  date  of  October  3d  1786, 
Mr.  Lewis  says:  "  I  went  in  company  with  the  court  and 
sundry  of  our  respectable  inhabitants  to  wait  on  the 
Chief  Justice  Brearly  from  White  tavern  to  this  place. 
We  returned  in  procession,  in  the  following  order,  on 
horseback:  ist,  the  constables;  2nd,  coroners;  3d,  sheriff; 
4th,  chief  justice,  in  his  carriage;  sth,  judges  of  the 
pleas;  6th,  justices;  7th,  clerks;  Sth,  citizens."  No 
doubt  the  members  of  the  procession  were  all  on  horse- 
back except  the  chief  justice;    and  this  attention  to  the 


judge  coming  to  hold  a  general  jail  delivery  was  intended 
to  impress  the  people  with  the  majesty  of  the  law. 

To  show  how  elections  were  conducted  in  those  early 


38 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


days  take  another  quotation  from  this  diary:  Tuesday 
October  loth  1786— "This  day  I  served  as  clerk  of  the 
general  election.  Judge  Stiles  conducted  the  election. 
Colonel  Hathaway,  David  Tuttle,  Justice  Ross,  William 
Winds  and  Nathaniel  Terry  were  inspectors,  and  Will 
Canfieldand  Henry  Can  field  as  clerks:  Abraham  Kitchel, 
Esq.,  was  elected  a  counselor;  Aaron  Kitchel,  Esq., 
Colonel  Cooke  and  Colonel  Starke,  assemblymen;  Jacob 
Arnold,  Esq.,  sheriff,  and  Enoch  Beach  and  Victor  King, 
coroners."  The  election  of  candidates  for  the  State 
convention  to  ratify  the  federal  constitution  lasted  from 
Tuesday  November  27th  to  Saturday  December  ist  1787, 
and  resulted  in  the  election  of  William  WoodhuU,  John 
Jacob  Faesch  and  General  William  Winds. 

The  death  of  General  Washington  was  the  most  notable 
event  which  closed  the  century.  The  newsi:^apers  of  the 
day  were  heavily  lined  and  mark  the  very  general  ev- 
idence of  sorrow  throughout  the  land.  In  every  town 
meetings  were  held  and  appropriate  addresses  made. 
Rev.  John  Carle's  address,  delivered  at  Rockaway,  De- 
cember 29th  1799,  was  printed  by  Jacob  Mann,  and  a 
copy  is  still  in  existence.  The  speaker  drew  a  com- 
parison between  his  subject  and  Moses,  and  but  echoed 
the  sentiments  of  his  hearers  and  of  other  orators  in 
speaking  of  Washington  as  "the  greatest  man  that  hath 
graced  the  present  century  in  any  part  of  the  world." 

When  the  war  of  1812  broke  out  the  militia  of  the 
county  was  organized  in  four  regiments  of  infantry  and 
one  squadron  of  cavalry.  The  regiments  of  infantry 
were  commanded  by  Lieutenant- Colonels  Silas  Axtell, 
John  Smith,  Joseph  Jackson  and  Lemuel  Cobb,  and  the 
brigade  formed  by  them  was  coramancled  by  Brigadier- 
General  John  Darcy.  Lieutenant-Colonel  William  Camp- 
field  commanded  the  squadron  of  horse.  The  militia 
were  assembled  on  the  call  of  the  general  two  or  three 
times  each  year,  and  were  in  a  fair  state  of  efficiency. 
There  were  three  uniforined  companies — Captain  Car- 
ter's company  of  riflemen  from  Madison  or  Bottle  Hill, 
Captain  Halliday's  company  of  Morris  rangers,  and  Cap- 
tain Brittin's  fusileers,  of  Chatham. 

On  the  15th  of  May  1812  Captain  Carter's  company 
paraded  on  Morris  Green,  with  250  of  the  militia,  who 
were  assembled  for  that  purpose  and  were  described  as  a 
well-disciplined,  handsome  body  of  inen.  Both  that 
company  and  the  rangers  stood  ready  to  volunteer  their 
services  at  a  moment's  warning.  Meantime  recruiting 
was  going  on  for  the  United  States  service,  and  Captain 
Scott  of  the  new  establishment  had  about  sixty  men  and 
Captain  Hazard,  of  the  new,  about  thirty  enlisted.  The 
Jersey  regiment,  to  which  no  doubt  many  Morris  county 
volunteers  belonged,  numbering  in  all  about  800  men, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Brearly  commanding,  struck  its  tents 
at  Fort  Richmond,  on  Staten  Island,  on  Tuesday  August 
i8th,  and  embarked  for  Albany.  It  reached  the  encamp- 
ment at  Greenpoint  (Greenbush?),  near  Albany,  "in  good 
health  and  gpirit.s,''  on  the  22nd,  and  on  November  12th 
the  camp  there  was  broken  up  and  the  regiment  marched 
northward  to  the  Canada  frontier. 

November  i6th  1812  Governor  Aaron  Ogden,  in  view 


of  particular  instructions  addressed  to  him  by  the  gen-eral 
commanding  at  New  York,  called  upon  all  uniformed 
companies  to  hold  themselves  ready  on  twenty-four 
hours'  notice  to  take  the  field.  The  enemy's  fleet  threat- 
ened the  city  then,  and  at  intervals  afterward  during  the 
war.  The  militia  regiments  of  this  State  relieved  each 
other  in  duty  at  Jersey  City,  Sandy  Hook  and  the  High- 
lands, in  readiness  to  meet  the  invader. 

In  September  the  third  regiment  of  Morris  militia  was 
called  into  active  service  and  marched  to  Sandy  Hook. 
It  was  in  the  United  States  service  from  September  17th 
to  November  30th  1812,  when  the  men  were  mustered 
out  and  returned  home.  The  roster  of  the  field  and  staff 
of  this  regiment  was  as  follows: 

Lieutenant-colonel,  Joseph  Jackson;  majors,  Peter 
Kline  and  Daniel  Farrand;  adjutant,  William  McFar- 
land;  quartermaster,  Joseph  Edsall;  paymaster,  Jonas 
Wade  ;  surgeon,  Reuel  Hampton  ;  sergeant  major, 
Thomas  C.  Ryerson;  quartermaster  sergeant,  Isaac 
Wade. 

There  Avere  six  coinpanies,  as  follows:  Captain  John 
Hinchman's  company,  81  men;  Captain  Samuel  Dem- 
arest's,  64  men;  Captain  Abner  Dodd's,  61  men;  Captain 
William  Corwine's,  74  men;  Captain  Stephen  Baldwin's, 
70  men;  Captain  Peter  Cole's,  75  men;  total,  433  officers 
and  men. 

August  i2th  1814  General  James  J.  Wilson,  in  command 
at  the  seacoast,  accepted  the  service  of  the  three  volun- 
teer uniformed  companies,  together  with  185  officers  and 
men  who  were  to  be  taken  from  the  other  militia.  The 
militia  of  Morris  and  Sussex  Avere  to  be  formed  into  one 
regiment,  and  this  regiment  was  to  be  one  of  three  com- 
manded by  Brigadier-General  William  Colfax.  Agree- 
ably to  orders  of  ihe  governor  of  the  State  the  three 
uniformed  companies  marched  off  on  Saturday  morning, 
September  3d,  for  Harsimus,  near  Paulus  Hook,  where 
they  were  to  be  stationed  for  a  time.  In  the  notice  of 
their  leaving  it  is  added,  "  The  greatest  cheerfulness  and 
animation  prevailed  among  them,  and  they  appeared  to 
entertain  a  just  sense  of  the  nature  of  the  duties  re- 
quired of  them  and  of  the  honor  of  performing  those 
duties  with  resolution  and  firmness." 

The  following  are  the  rolls  of  these  three  companies, 
which  formed  part  of  Colonel  John  Frelinghuysen's 
regiment: 

Captain  William  Brittin's  company,  which  was  in  the 
United  States  service  from  September  ist  1814  to  De- 
cember 3d  1814:  Captain,  William  Brittin;  lieutenant, 
Elijah  Ward  (appointed  quartermaster  September  7th); 
ensign,  Lewis  Carter:  sergeants— Ichabod  Bruen,  William 
Thompson,  Joseph  Day,  Alexander  Bruen;  corporals- 
Caleb  C.  Bruen,  Ellas  Donnington,  Richard  R.  Elliot, 
Charles  Townley  3d;  drummer,  Jonathan  Miller;  pri- 
vates—John T.  Muchmore,  Alva  Bonnel  (Joel  Bonnel 
went  as  his  substitute),  Seth  Crowell,  Samuel  M.  Crane 


Robertson. 

Roll  of   Captain    Samuel  Halliday's   Morris   rangers, 
which  company  was  in  the  service  of  the  United  States 


TROOPS  IN  1812-14. 


39 


from  the  ist  of  September  to  the  2nd  of  December  1814: 
Captain,  Samuel  Halliday;  lieutenant,  Benjamin  Lindsley 
jr.;  ensign,  Joseph  M.  Lindsley;  sergeants — Matthew  G. 
Lindsley,  William  H.  Wetmore,  Joseph  Byram  jr.,  Ber- 
nard McCormac;  corporals — Stephen  Sneden,  William 
Dalrymple,  Samuel  P.  Hull,  Stephen  C.  Ayers  (John 
Odell  substitute);  drummer,  Stpplien  James;  lifer,  Silas 
Ogden;  privates — Samuel  Beeis,  Jerry  Colwell,  David 
Cutter,  Charles  M.  Day,  Benjamin  Denton,  Peter  Dore- 
mus,  Steplien  P.  Freeman,  Lewis  Freeman,  Sylvester  R. 
Guerin,  Horatio  G.  Hopkins,  Luther  Y.  Howell,  Ezekiel 
Hill,  John  Hand,  Joseph  M.  Johnson,  Abraham  Ludlow, 
David  Lindsley,  Ira  Lindsley  (David  Beers  substitute), 
Moses  Lindsley,  Roswell  Loniis,  Lewis  March,  John 
Meeker,  John  Nestor  jr.',  David  Nestor,  Elij.ih  Oliver, 
Byram  Prudden,  Maltby  G.  Pierson,  Eleazer  M.  Pierson, 
Jabez  Rodgers,  Ezra  Scott,  Ebenezer  Slibbins,  Peregrine 
Sanford,  Seth  C.  Schenck,  Charles  Vail,  Isaac  M.  Wooley. 
Roll  of  Captain  Carier's  riflemen,  who  were  in  the 
United  States  service  from  September  ist  to  December 
2nd  1814:  Captain,  Luke  Carter;  lieutenants — David  W. 
Halstead,  William  Brewster  (discharged  September  19th 
i8i4\  Charles  Carter;  sergeants — Benjamin  F.  Foster, 
Elijah  Canfield,  Harvey  Hopping,  David  Tompkins; 
corporals — Calvin  Sayres,  Samuel  Hedges,  John  B. 
Miller,  Moses  Baldwin;  musicians — Daniel  Brewster, 
Luther  Smith;  privates — Lewis  Baker,  Cyrus  Hall,  Squire 
Burnet,  William  Canfield  (died  October  3d  1814),  Malilon 
Carter,  Ellis  Cook,  Samuel  Cory,  Moses  Condit,  John 
Dixon,  John  Fairchild,  Clark  Freeman,  John  French, 
'J'horaas  Genung,  Elam  Genung,  Whilfield  Hopping, 
Robert  W.  Halstead,  Aaron  M.  Jacobus,  Jacob  Ogden, 
Richard  Rikeman,  Joseph  Smiihson,  John  Simpson, 
Ephraim  C.  Simpson,  William  Tucker  (deserted),  Stephen 
C.  Woodruff,  John  Glover. 

The  regiment  of  militia  which  went  to  the  Hook  at 
about  the  same  time  was  commanded  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  John  Seward,  and  was  in  the  United  States  ser- 
vice from  about  September  ist  18 14  to  December  gih 
1814.     The  following  is  a  roster  ofthe  field  and  staff: 

Lieutenant-colonel,  John  Seward;  majors — Jonathan 
Brown,  John  L.  Anderson,  Benjamin  Rosenkrans;  adju- 
tant, Ebenezer  F.  Smith;  paymaster,  David  Thompson 
jr.;  surgeon,  Hampton  Dunham;  surgeon's  mate,  Timothy 
S.  Johnes;  sergeant  major,  Richard  Reed;  quartermaster 
sergeants — Jonas  L.  Willis,  Nathaniel  O.  Condit  (np- 
pointed  quartermaster  September  13th  1814);  drum  major, 
William  Fountain;  fifer,  John  S.  Smith;  waiters— Israel 
Seward,  waiter  to  the  colonel;  Benjamin  Ayres,  waiter  to 
the  surgeon;  Matto  Derbe,  waiter  to  the  surgeon's  mate. 

There  were  fourteen  companies,  which  were  in  service 
as  follows — the  precise  dates  of  their  musters  in  and  out 
not  being  the  same:  Captains  William  Vliet  and  Benja- 
man  Coleman's  company,  September  9th  to  December 
6th;  Captain  Joseph  Budd's,  September  9th  to  December 
5th;  tlie  companies  of  Captains  Vancleve  Moore,  Robert 
Perrine,  Charles  South,  John  S.  Darcy,  Thomas  Teas, 
dale  and  George  Beardslee,  from  September  6th  to  De- 
cember .sth;  Captain  Alexander  Reading's,  September 
8th  to  December  5th;  Captain  Abraham  Webb's,  Sep- 
tember 3d  to  December  4th;  Captain  Daniel  Kilburn's, 
September  ist  to  December  sth;  Captain  William  Drum's, 
September  3d  to  December  6th;  Captain  William  Swaze's, 
September  8th  to  December  7th. 

On  Sunday  the  nth  of  September  the  uniformed  com- 
panies of   General   Colfax's  brigade,   numbering   1,200 


men,  paraded  and  marched  to  "  high  ground  "  to  hear 
Rev.  Dr.  Stephen  Grover,  of  Caldwell,  preach  to  them. 
About  the  20th  the  brigade  removed  from  Paulus  Hook 
to  the  heights  of  Navesink,  where  and  at  Sandy  Hook  it 
remained  until  the  last  of  November,  when 'the  men  were 
paid  off  and  ordered  home.  They  arrived  in  Morristown 
Saturday  evening  December  7th  1814,  and  Halliday's 
Rangers  paraded  on  the  8th  and  were  given  a  public  din- 
ner. 

A  singular  incident  of  this  war  was  the  volunteering  on 
the  part  of  about  four  hundred  citizens  of  Washington, 
Chester,  Mendham  and  Morris  to  labor  a  day  on  the 
fortifications  of  New  York.  In  the  A''c7cj  York  Gazette 
of  September  10th  1814  is  this  acknowledgment  of  their 
service:  "We  have  the  satisfaction  again  to  notice  the 
distinguished  and  practical  patriotism  of  our  sister  State 
New  Jersey.  Between  four  and  five  hundred  men  from 
Morris  county,  some  from  a  distance  of  nearly  fifty  miles, 
headed  by  their  revered  pastors,  were  at  work  yesterday 
on  the  fortifications  of  Harlem.  Such  exalted  and  dis- 
tinguished patriotism  deserves  to  be  and  will  be  held  in 
grateful  remembrance  by  the  citizens  of  New  York,  and 
recorded  in  the  pages  of  history,  to  the  immortal  honor 
of  the  people  of  that  State." 

The  war,  as  might  have  been  expected,  stimulated  cer- 
tain manufactures,  our  commerce  with  foreign  nations 
being  almost  entirely  cut  off.  The  Mount  Hope  furnace 
was  started  up,  and  Dr.  Charles  M.  Graham  advertised 
December  30th  1812  that  the  Hibernia  furnace  would  be 
thereafter  conducted  by  him.  Matthias  Denman,  Abra- 
ham Wooley  and  Samuel  Adams  had  been  previously  his 
partners  in  its  operation.  He  also  advertises  thirty-five 
casks  of  New  Jersey  made  copperas  of  the  first  quality, 
at  the  Hibernia  store,  for  cash  or  grain  at  New  York 
prices.  The  copperas  was  manufactured  at  the  copperas 
mine  near  Green  Pond,  where  Job  Allen  during  the 
Revolutionary  war  carried  on  the  business.  The  end  of 
the  war  put  an  end  to  this  industry  and  it  never  was  re- 
vived. 


CHAPTER   VIL 


THE   IRON    INDUSTRY    OF    MORRIS   COUNTY — EARLIEST 
ENTERPRISES — FORGES   AND    BLOOMARIES. 


HE  history  of  the  iron  industry  of  Morris 
county  reaches  back  almost  to  its  first  set- 
tlement. We  have  no  positive  knowledge  of 
any  actual  settlement  in  the  county  until 
about  1700.  Yet  in  17 14  the  tract  em- 
bracing the  Dickerson  mine  was  taken  up  on 
^  account  of  its  minerals,  from  the  proprietors  of 
West  Jersey,  by  John  Reading,  who  in  1716  sold  it  to 
Joseph  Kirkbride;  and  it  is  a  matter  of  tradition  that 
previous  to  that  time  the  ore  was  manufactured  into  iron 
by  the  owners  of  forges,  who  were  allowed  to  help  them- 


40 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


selves  without  charge.  The  presence  of  the  ore  was 
known  to  the  Indians  yet  earlier  than  this;  and  their 
name  for  the  locality  "  Suckasuna  "  (or,  as  some  have  it, 
"  Sock-Soona "),  meaning  "black  stone"  or  "heavy 
stone,"  has  been  given  to  the  plains  which  extend  to  the 
westward  of  the  hills  wherein  the  mine  is  situated. 
Arrow-heads  and  utensils  of  various  kinds  made  of  iron 
by  the  Indians  have  been  picked  up  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. 

It  is  altogether  probable  that  the  presence  of  ore  in 
great  abundance,  the  forests  which  covered  the  whole 
land,  ready  for  the  collier,  and  the  abundant  waterfalls 
of  the  many  rivers  and  brooks  which  traversed  the 
mountainous  region  were  the  chief  inducements  which 
led  the  first  settlers  into  its  wildernesses.  It  is  a  circum- 
stance which  has  not  failed  to  impress  itself  upon  those 
familiar  with  the  records  of  the  proprietors  of  East  Jersey 
that  among  the  first  lands  to  be  taken  up  or  purchased, 
especially  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  were  the 
lots  containing  waterfalls,  and  where  veins  of  ore  cropped 
out  on  the  surface,  afterward  pieces  of  natural  meadow, 
and  last  of  all  the  surrounding  hills. 

In  the  "  brief  account  of  the  province  of  East  Jersey, 
in  America,  published  by  the  present  proprietors "  in 
1682,  it  is  said:  "What  sort  of  mines  or  minerals  are  in 
the  bowels  of  the  earth  after-time  must  produce,  the 
inhabitants  not  having  yet  employed  themselves  in  search 
thereof;  but  there  is  already  a  smelting  furnace  and  forge 
set  up  in  this  colony,  where  is  made  good  iron,  which  is 
of  great  benefit  to  the  country."  This  furnace  and  forge 
were  probably  the  iron  works  at  Tinton  Falls,  in  Mon- 
mouth county,  and  the  quotation  shows  that  the  minerals 
of  Morris  county  had  not  yet  been  discovered.  Of  the 
seven  "  considerable  towns  "  mentioned  as  being  in  East 
Jersey  none  are  west  of  Orange  Mountain,  and  the  whole 
region  was  no  doubt  an  unbroken  wilderness. 

The  first  forge  within  the  present  bounds  of  Morris  of 
which  we  have  any  knowledge  was  erected  at  Whippany, 
on  what  was  then  called,  by  its  Indian  name,  the  Whip- 
panong  River,  just  above  the  bridge  which  crosses  the 
stream  nearly  in  front  of  the  church.  Tradition  fixes  as 
early  a  date  as  17 10  for  its  erection.  Mr.  Green  in  his 
history  of  the  Hanover  church  speaks  of  the  old  building 
in  the  Whippany  graveyard  as  "about  100  rods  below 
the  forge  which  is  and  has  long  been  known  by  the  name 
of  the  Old  Iron  Works."  It  was  no  doubt  a  very  small 
and  rude  affair,  where  good  iron  was  made  free  from  the 
ore  by  smelting  it  with  charcoal,  and  without  any  of  the 
economical  appliances  even  of  the  bloomaries  of  a  hun- 
dred years  later.  The  ore  was  brought  to  it  from  the 
Succasunna  mine  in  leather  bags  on  horseback,  and  the 
iron  was  carried  to  market  at  tide  water  in  bars  bent  to 
fit  a  horse's  back — the  only  method  of  transportation. 
A  single  horse,  it  is  said,  would  carry  from  four  to  five 
hundred  pounds  fifteen  miles  in  a  day.  Not  a  vestige  of 
this  forge  now  remains,  and  its  builder  is  unknown.  The 
conjecture  is  that  John  Ford  and  Judge  Budd  built  it. 
An  aged  Presbyterian  clergyman.  Rev.  Isaac  Todd,  of 
Ocean  county,  who  is  still  living,  and  is  a  descendant  of 


Colonel  Jacob  Ford  sen.,  says  the  ancestor  of  the  Morris 
county  Fords  was  John  Ford,  of  Woodbri.dge.  While  in 
Philadelphia  in  17 10,  as  a  representative  of  his  church  to 
the  presbytery,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Judge  Budd, 
who  had  a  large  estate  in  Morris  county.  Budd  offered 
Ford  a  large  tract  of  land  if  he  would  remove  to  Monroe, 
between  Morristown  and  Whippany,  an  offer  which  was 
accepted. 

Following  up  the  Whippany  River  forges  were  erected 
soon  after  near  the  site  of  Morristown,  of  the  same  char- 
acter as  the  Whippany  forge,  and  getting  their  supply  of 
ore  from  the  same  source.  One  was  located  just  north 
of  what  is  now  called  Water  street  and  near  Flagler's  mill, 
called  the  Ford  forge.  Colonel  Jacob  Ford  sen.,  who 
probably  built  this  forge,  and  afterward  forges  on  the 
two  branches  of  the  Rockaway,  was  called  by  Peter 
Hasenclever  "one  of  the  first  adventurers  in  bloomary 
iron  works."  All  the  forges  near  Morristown  were  ex- 
tinct in  1823. 

The  first  forge  at  Dover  was  built,  it  is  said,  by  John 
Jackson  in  1722,  on  what  is  still  called  Jacks9n's  Brook, 
near  the  present  residence  of  Alpheus  Beemer.  Jackson 
purchased  a  tract  of  527  acres  of  one  Joseph  Latham, 
including  the  site  of  this  forge  and  much  of  the  land 
west  of  Dover.  The  venture  was  not  a  successful  one, 
however,  and  in  1757  the  forge  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Josiah  Beman,  and  the  farm  into  those  of  Hartshorne 
Fitz  Randolph. 

It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  in  1743  a  tract  of  91 
acres  was  located  by  Joseph  Shotwell  which  covered 
most  of  the  village  of  Dover,  on  both  sides  of  the  river 
from  where  the  Morris  and  Essex  Railroad  crosses  it  to 
below  Bergen  street,  and  it  was  said  to  be  at  a  place 
called  the  "  Quaker  Iron  Works."  In  1769  Josiah  Be. 
man,  "  bloomer,"  mortgages  to  Thomas  Bartow  the  same 
tract,  "  being  that  which  John  Jackson  formerly  lived  on 
and  whereon  the  forge  and  dwelling  house  which  was  his 
did  stand,"  and  which  land  was  "  conveyed  to  him  by 
Joseph  Prudden  by  deed  dated  April  7th  i76r;  except- 
ing out  of  this  present  grant  nine  acres  on  which  the 
forge  stands  sold  by  him  to  Robert  Schooley."  It 
further  appears  from  other  deeds  that  the  indebtedness 
secured  by  this  mortgage  was  contracted  in  1761,  prob- 
ably when  the  purchase  was  made  of  Prudden.  In  1768 
Joseph  Jackson  and  his  son  Stephen  purchased  of  Robert 
Schooley  one  fire  in  this  forge.  The  next  year  Joseph 
Jackson  conveyed  his  interest  in  the  forge  to  his  son. 
Josiah  Beman,  the  owner  as  it  appears  as  early  as  1761 
of  this  Dover  forge,  was  a  brother  of  David  Beman  of 
Rockaway,  the  brother-in-law  of  General  Winds  and  the 
grandfather  of  the  late  Thomas  Green  of  Denville.  He 
lived  in  the  long,  low  house  in  the  village  of  Dover  still 
standing  on  the  north  side  of  the  mill  pond.  He  is 
described  as  a  man  of  great  piety,  a  regular  attendant 
upon  the  church  at  Rockaway  and  of  very  simple  habits. 
Stephen  Jackson  learned  his  trade  of  him,  and  in  1764 
bought  the  last  year  of  his  tinie  of  him  for  ^100 — then 
considered  a  large  sum — and  with  Andrew  King  leased 
ai5d  carried  on  the  forge  for  a  time.     If  is  said  the  two 


EARLY  IRON  FORGES. 


41 


young  men  kept  bachelors'  hall,  doing  their  own  cooking, 
which  was  of  the  simplest  kind,  by  turns.  In  a  few  years 
they  both  had  capital  to  go  into  business  for  themselves, 
and  both  became  prominent  iron  manufacturers.  Beman 
sold  his  forge  to  Canfield  &  Losey  in  1792,  and  the  new 
firm  enlarged  the  business  by  the  erection  of  rolling- 
mills,  etc. 

In  1748  the  land  on  both  sides  of  the  river  at  Rocka- 
way  was  located  by  Colonel  Jacob  Ford,  and  the  tract 
was  said  to  include  "  Job  Allen's  iron  works."  In  1767 
letters  of  administration  of  Job  Allen's  estate  were  granted 
to  Colonel  Jacob  Ford,  his  principal  debtor;  tending  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  pioneer  ironmaster  of  Rockaway 
had  been  no  more  successful  than  his  neighbor  at  Dover. 
These  iron  works  were  built,>as  near  as  can  now  be  as- 
certained, in  1730. 

The  little  dam  in  the  middle  of  the  upper  pond  and 
covered  ordinarily  by  water  was  that  on  which  this 
earliest  structure  depended  for  its  supply  of  water.  In 
1774  Joseph  Prudden  jr.,  of  Morristown,  conveyed  to 
Thomas  Brown  and  John  Cobb  one  fire  in  this  forge,  ihe 
other  being  in  the  possession  of  David  Beman.  May 
30th  1778  Cobb  &  Brown  convey  the  same  fire,  with  the 
appurtenances,  "  coal  yards,  dams  and  ponds,"  to  Stephen 
Jackson.  In  1780,  January  2nd,  David  Beman  conveyed 
his  half  of  the  forge  to  John  Jacob  Faesch;  and  January 
ist  1782  Stephen  Jackson  conveyed  his  part  also  to  him. 
Faesch  retained  possession  of  the  works  until  his  death, 
when  they  were  bought  back  by  Stephen  Jackson.  In 
181 2  Stephen  Jackson  devised  this  forge  to  his  sons  Wil- 
liam and  John  D.  Jackson;  but  both  interests  were 
purchased  by  their  brother  Colonel  Joseph  Jackson,  who 
had  since  1809  been  the  owner  of  the  lower  forge 
at  Rockaway.  By  him  it  was  sold  in  1850  to  his 
son-in-law  Samuel  B.  Halsey,  to  whose  heirs  it  still 
belongs. 

It  is  evident  that  about  the  years  1748-50  a  great  ad- 
vance was  made  in  the  manufacture  of  iron.  In  1741  a 
humble  "  representation  "  was  made  by  the  Council  and 
House  of  Representatives  to  the  governor  of  the  province, 
Lewis  Morris,  setting  forth  the  abundance  of  iron  ore 
and  the  conveniences  for  making  the  same  into  pig  and 
bar  iron  which  existed,  and  that  with  proper  encourage- 
ment they  could  probably  in  some  years  wholly  supply 
that  necessary  commodity  to  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
"  for  which  they  become  annually  greatly  indebted  to 
Sweden  and  other  nations  ";  but  that  hitherto  they  had 
"made  but  small  advantage  therefrom,  having  imported 
but  very  inconsiderable  quantities  either  of  pig  metal  or 
bar  iron  into  Great  Britain,  by  reason  of  the  great  dis- 
couragement they  be  under  for  the  high  price  of  labor 
and  the  duties  by  act  of  Parliament  on  these  commodities 
imported  from  his  Majesty's  plantations  in  America. 
That  should  it  please  the  British  Legislature  to  take  off 
the  duties  at  present  payable  on  importations,  and  allow 
such  bounty  thereon  as  to  them  in  their  great  wisdom 
might  seem  reasonable,  the  inhabitants  of  this  and  other 
of  his  Majesty's  colonies  in  North  America  would  be 
thereby  the  better  enabled  to  discharge  the   respective 


balances  due  by  them  to  their  mother  country,  and  greatly 
to  increase  the  quantities  of  her  manufactures  by  them 
exported  (as  their  return  would  be  in  those  only);  where- 
by the  annual  debt  by  her  incurred  to  Sweden  and  other 
foreign  nations  for  iron  would  be  considerably  lessened, 
and  the  navigation  and  ship-building  throughout  the 
British  dominions  greatly  encouraged  and  enlarged." 

This  very  humble  petition  seems  to  have  had  no  im- 
mediate leffect;  but  in  1750  an  act  of  Parliament  was 
transmitted  to  the  governor  of  the  colony  entitled  "  an 
act  to  encourage  the  importation  of  pig  and  bar  iron  from 
his  Majesty's  colonies  in  America,  and  to  prevent  the 
erection  of  any  mill  or  other  engine  for  slitting  or  rolling 
of  iron,  or  any  plating  forge  to  work  with  a  tilt  hammer, 
or  any  furnace  for  making  steel,  in  any  of  the  said  colon- 
ies." The  act  corresponded  with  its  title;  and,  while  it 
permitted  the  colonists  to  manufacture  and  send  to  the 
mother  country  pig  and  bar  iron  under  certain  regula- 
tions, it  strictly  forbade,  under  penalty  of  ;^20o,  the 
erection  of  any  such  mill  as  was  intended  to  be  prohib- 
ited. They  might  make  the  crude  article,  but  they  must 
send  it  to  the  mother  country  to  be  reduced  to  such 
shape  as  to  fit  it  for  use.  The  forge  man  could  make 
the  iron  bloom,  but  he  must  send  it  across  the  Atlantic 
to  be  rolled  into  the  nail  rods  and  horseshoe  iron  he  and 
his  neighbors  required  for  their  own  use. 

The  governors  were  ordered  to  report  the  mills,  etc., 
then  erected,  and  accordingly  Governor  Belcher  reported 
that  there  were  in  New  Jersey  that  year  one  mill  for 
slitting  and  rolling  iron,  in  Bethlehem  township,  Hunter- 
don county;  one  plating  forge  at  Trenton  and  one 
furnace  for  making  steel  in  Trenton — of  which  only  the 
plating  forge  was  then  used;  and  besides  these,  the 
governor  adds,  "  I  do  also  certify  that  from  the  strictest 
inquiry  I  can  possibly  make  there  is  no  other  mill  or 
engine  for  slitting  and  rolling  of  iron,  or  plating  forge 
which  works  with  a  tilt  hammer,  or  furnace  for  making 
steel,  within  his  Majesty's  province  of  New  Jersey." 

Whether  as  one  of  the  effects  of  this  law  or  not,  several 
forges  were  built  in  the  county  about  the  time  it  went 
into  operation.  Colonel  Jacob  Ford,  of  Morristown,  in 
1750  "took  up  "or  located  the  falls  of  the  east  branch 
of  the  Rockaway  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  and  proceeded  to  erect 
two  forges  there.  The  same  year  he  purchased  the  falls 
on  the  same  stream  at  Denmark,  where  the  "Burnt 
Meadow  forge  "  was  built.  It  is  called  "  John  Harri- 
man's  Iron  Works  "  in  1764,  but  a  few  years  afterward 
was  owned  by  Jacob  Ford  jr.  In  1749  Jonathan  Osborn 
purchased  the  falls  midway  between  Denmark  and  Mt. 
Pleasant,  and  built  what  is  known  as  Middle  forge — the 
site  of  which  is  now  owned  by  the  United  States.  All 
these  forges  were  in  the  hands  of  the  Fords  before  the 
Revolutionary  war. 

There  was  also  a  forge  about  half  a  mile  below  Lower 
Longwood  in  existence  at  the  time  of  the  war,  which  was 
called  "  Ford's  forge,"  which  was  extinct  in  1823;  but 
exactly  when  it  was  built  cannot  be  ascertained.  In  a 
deed  made  in  1803  from  Samuel  Tuthill  to  John  P.  Losey 
mention  is  made  of  the  bridge  that  crosses  the  Rockawpy 


42 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


River  "  a  little   above   where   the   old    Speedwell  forge 
formerly  stood." 

About  this  time,  that  is  to  say  from  1750  to  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  were  also  erected  many 
other  ancient  forges.  One  stood  on  the  Whippany  River 
near  Morristown,  railed  the  Carmichael  forge,  and  one 
at  Malapardis,  about  three  miles  northeast  of  Morristown. 
Both  of  these  were  extinct  before  this  century  began. 
The  Hathaway  forge  on  the  Whippany,  close  to  the 
Morris  and  Essex  Railroad,  and  about  a  mile  west  of 
Morris  Plains  station,  was  built  by  Captain  James  Keene, 
who  was  a  captain  in  the  Revolutionary  army,  and  who 
ran  it  until  1780.  Jonathan  Hathaway,  from  whom  it 
took  its  name,  owned  and  ran  it  for  over  twenty-five 
years,  then  Benjamin  Holloway  until  1806,  when  it  was 
burned  down.  It  was  rebuilt,  but  a  fresliet  in  1821 
broke  away  the  dam  and  it  was  not  again  in   operation- 

On  Den  Brook,  a  tributary  of  the  Rockaway,  were 
built  Shongum  forge,  owned  by  Deacon  John  Hunting- 
ton; Ninkey  forge  (owned  by  Abraham  and  John  Kin 
ney  in  1796  and  sold  as  their  property  in  1799  to  Caleb 
Russel),  built  and  rebuilt  several  times;  Coleraine  (or 
Cold-rain)  forge,  lower  down  the  stream;  and  still  lower 
Franklin  forge,  built  by  John  Cobb,  Thomas  Brown  and 
Stephen  Jackson  just  previous  to  the  war.  Hubbard  S. 
Stickle,  who  has  just  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety- 
eight  years,  and  who  himself  built  one  forge  and  assisted 
in  building  several  others,  said  he  could  remember  when 
all  four  of  these  forges  were  running. 

Colonel  James  W.  Drake  writes  in  1854  that,  "princi- 
pally for  the  purpose  of  consuming  the  surplus  wood, 
four  forges  for  manufacturing  iron  were  at  different 
times  erected  in  the  township  of  Mendham,  but  the  fires 
of  all  of  them  have  been  long  extinguished.  The  ore 
for  their  supply  was  almost  entirely  furnished  by  the 
well  known  Suckasunny  mine.  A  small  amount  of  ore 
was  at  one  time  supplied  by  a  mine  in  the  village  of 
Water  Street,  but  at  length  the  use  of  it  was  abandoned, 
as  iron  could  not  be  made  of  it."  From  an  old  map 
made  in  1823,  showing  the  forges  active  and  extinct  in 
Morris  county  at  that  time,  it  appears  that  these  forges 
were  the  "Rushes"  and  "Mendham"  forges,  on  the 
north  branch  of  the  Raritan;  "Leddle's  forge,"  on  a 
branch  of  the  Passaic;  and  "  Rye"  forge,  on  the  Whip- 
pany river  at  Water  Street,  all  extinct.  The  mine 
spoken  of  by  Colonel  Drake  was  reopened  and  worked 
extensively  since  the  last  war  by  Ario  Pardee  and  other 
lessees  of  the  owner,  Madison  Connet. 

In  1751  John  Johnston  bought  of  the  proprietors  the 
falls  of  the  Beach  Glen  Brook  at  Beach  Glen,  and  built 
the  forge  known  for  many  years  as  ''  Johnston's  iron 
works."  It  was  sold  by  Job  Allen  to  Benjam.in  Beach 
and  Henry  Tuttle  December  30th  1771,  and  Beach 
shortly  after  bought  out  his  partner  and  continued  to 
operate  it  until  his  death.  Benjamin  Beach  (son  of 
Abner  Beach)  is  described  as  a  self-made  man,  who, 
beginning  with  very  small  means,  by  integrity,  industry 
and  systematic  perseverance  acquired  a  large  estate, 
owning  at  the  time  of  his  death  over  a  thousand  acres  of 


land.  Beach  Glen  before  it  was  so  called,  in  honor  of 
himself,  was  called  Horse  Pound,  because  the  early  set- 
tlers, by  building  a  fence  from  one  high  hill  to  the  other, 
formed  a  pound  into  which  they  drove  their  wild  horses 
to  catch  them.  From  Benjamin  Beach  the  forge  de- 
scended to  his  two  sons  Chilion  and  Samuel  Searing; 
and  the  site  is  still  in  the  family,  being  owned  by  Dr. 
Columbus  Beach,  the  son  of  Chilion.  The  dam  was 
swept  away  by  a  freshet  in  1867,  and  has  never  been 
rebuilt. 

There  was  also  an  old  forge  at  Troy,  near  the  present 
residence  of  Andrew  J.  Smith,  built  probably  by  John 
Cobb.  It  (or,  rather,  its  site— for  the  forge  has  gone 
down)  is  still  owned  in  part  by  some  of  the  descendants 
of  Cobb,  one-half  being  owned  by  Andrew  J.  Smith, 
whose  father,  Ebenezer  F.  Smith,  ran  it  as  late  as  i860. 
There  was  also  an  old  forge  at  the  head  of  Speedwell 
Pond,  and  another  at  the  present  dam  at  Speedwell 
where  Arnold  &  Kinney  erected  their  slitting-mill. 
Colonel  Ford  is  said  to  have  been  the  builder  of  these.   • 

White  Meadow  was  also  a  place  of  importance  at  lh"s 
time.  A  lot  was  located  here  in  1753  by  David  Beman, 
probably  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  forge,  and  he  and 
Thomas  Miller  were,  no  doubt,  the  builders  of  one. 
They  or  one  of  them  conveyed  to  John  Bigalow  and 
Aaron  Bigalow;  for  in  1769  the  Bigalows  gave  a  mort- 
gage of  one-half  of  the  forge  "  which  was  built  at  the 
place  called  White  Meadow."  October  i8th  1774  the 
Bigalows  gave  a  mortgage  on  a  tract  of  142^  acres 
(including  the  lot  returned  to  Beman),  said  to  be  a 
tract  which  Thomas  Miller  bought  of  Thomas  Barton 
and  David  Beman,  and  conveyed  to  said  Bigalows  by 
deed  of  even  date  with  the  mortgage.  From  the  Biga- 
lows it  fell  into  the  possession  of  Abraham  Kitchel,  who 
conveyed  it  to  Bernard  Smith  (the  friend  of  Faesch)  in 
1792.  Smith  was  obliged  to  part  with  it,  and  sold  it  to 
Isaac  Canfield  in  1802. 

About  a  mile  below  White  Meadow  was  the  forge  well 
known  as  "  Guinea  forge,"  built  by  Colonel  John  Munson 
before  1774.  A  recital  by  Benjamin  Beach  and  Abrahan 
Kitchel,  in  the  minutes  of  the  board  of  proprietors  in 
1785,  quotes  an  application  of  Munson  and  Benjamin 
Beach  in  1774  for  a  large  tract  of  land  lying  near  these 
works,  which  tells  the  history  of  this  forge  for  the  ten 
years  previous,  as  follows: 

"  To  the  Honorable  the  Council  of  Proprietors — A 
tract  of  land  [was]  surveyed  by  Thomas  Millige  to  Ben- 
jamin Beach  and  Colonel  John  Munson  of  about  2,600 
acres,  but  no  deed  has  been  given  nor  moneys  paid 
except  the  surveying,  recording,  &c.  Colonel  Munson, 
being  unable  to  carry  on  his  forge,  sold  his  forge  and 
right  to  procure  a  deed  in  his  name  to  Joshua  Winget, 
who  sold  the  same  to  Samuel  Crane.  Crane  sold  to 
Abijah  Sherman,  and  when  Sherman  broke.  Crane  took 
the  forge  again  and  now  Crane  proves  insolvent.  Mr. 
Beach  does  not  expect  to  take  more  than  half  of  the 
land  surveyed  and  recorded  as  above.  Colonel  Munson, 
not  being  able  to  attend,  prays  that  his  contract  may  be 
void.  Abraham  Kitchel  and  Mark  Walton  will  take 
Colonel  Munson's  part  provided  they  can  have  it  for  a' 
reasonable  sum." 


EARLY  FORGES— ANDREW  KING— PETER  HASENCLEVER. 


43 


With  White  Meadow  forge  Guinea  forge  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Abraham  Kitchel,  who  conveyed  it  in  1791  to 
Bernard  Smith,  who  conveyed  it  to  Isaac  Canfield  in 
1802.  Both  these  forges  were  afterward  owned  by 
Colonel  Thomas  Muir,  whose  family  still  own  White 
Meadow  and  the  mine  and  large  tracts  surrounding. 
Guinea  forge  was  bought  by  Hubbard  S.  Stickle,  who 
owned  its  site  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Both  forges 
have  long  been  down. 

The  capacity  of  the  forges  built  before  the  Revolution 
may  be  judged  from  a  petition  presented  to  the  House 
of  Assembly  in  September  1751,  by  the  owners  of  bloom- 
aries  in  the  county  oT  Morris,  "  setting  forth  that  they 
humbly  conceive  their  bloomaries  are  not  comprehended 
in  the  late  law  for  returning  the  taxables  of  the  province; 
and  that  there  are  many  bloomaries  in  the  said  county 
that  don't  make  more  than  five  or  six  tons  of  iron  in  a 
year;  and  that  therefore  the  profits  of  such  forges  cannot 
pay  any  tax,  but  m'any  of  them  on  the  contrary  must  be 
obliged  to  let  their  works  fall  if  any  tax  be  laid  on  them; 
and  praying  the  House  will  rather  encourage  so  publick 
a  benefit,  and  instead  of  laying  a  tax  grant  a  small 
bounty  upon  every  ton  of  bar  iron  fitted  for  market,  and 
a  receipt  of  the  same  being  shipped  for  London  pro- 
duced to  the  treasurer,  according  to  a  late  act  of  Par- 
liament." No  action  appears  to  have  been  taken  upon 
this  petition. 

The  ore  for  these  forges  continued  to  be  taken  princi- 
pally from  the  Dickerson  mine,  on  account  of  its  greater 
richness  and  purity,  though  the  great  Jugular  vein  at 
Mount  Hope  and  the  vein  at  Hibernia  had  become 
known.  The  forgemen  constituted  a  class  by  them- 
selves, handing  down  in  many  instances  from  father  to 
son  the  trade  they  lived  by.  It  was  a  day  of  simple 
habits  and  men  lived  on  the  plainest  fare.  Morristown 
was  the  chief  source  of  supply,  and  many  of  the  men 
made  the  trip  on  foot  from  the  upper  part  of  the  county 
to  that  place  once  a  week  to  get  their  supplies.  From 
Henry  Baker,  of  Mt.  Pleasant,  we  have  this  incident  of 
his  grandfather,  Andrew  King,  who  was  one  of  Colonel 
Ford's  forgemen  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  and  who  at  one  time 
leased,  as  we  have  stated,  the  Dover  forge  of  Josiah 
Beman. 

On  one  of  his  visits  to  Morristown  for  supplies  the 
store  keeper  recommended  to  him  tea  as  a  new  article  of 
diet,  which  he  would  find  very  agreeable.  He  took  a 
package  of  it  home,  with  a  very  general  idea  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  it  should  be  prepared  for  the  table,  and  his 
good  wife,  who  had  never  seen  the  article  before,  attempted 
to  make  a  pudding  of  it.  The  bag  in  ^yhich  she  had  se- 
cured it  burst  in  the  boiling,  and  with  great  difficulty  she 
succeeded  in  keeping  it  within  bounds  during  the  cook- 
ing. Of  course  no  one  could  eat  the  unpalatable  dish, 
and  on  being  asked  how  he  liked  it  when  in  Morristown 
again  he  replied  they  did  not  want  any  more  of  it.  When 
he  described  the  use  they  had  sought  to  make  of  it,  it 
created  no  little  amusement  in  the  store.  He  said  they 
"could  neither  eat  the  pudding  nor  drink  the  broth." 
However,  he  was  persuaded  to  make  a  new  trial,  and 


with  more  definite  instructions,  and  with  wooden  cups 
and  saucers  and  a  new  package  the  use  of  the  beverage 
was  inaugurated  under  more  favorable  auspices. 

This  Andrew  King  was  a  man  of  excellent  character 
and  thoroughly  understood  his  busiriess.  By  his  industry 
and  thrift  he  acquired  considerable  property,  and  he  died 
when  over  90  years  of  age,  in  Dover,  where  he  owned  a 
house  and  farm  on  the  hill  south  of  the  Morris  and 
Essex  depot.  One  of  his  daughters  married  Jeremiah 
Baker,  of  Mt.  Pleasant.  A  son,  John  King,  acted  as 
clerk  for  Faesch  at  Mt.  Hope  and  for  Stotesbury  at  Hi- 
bernia, and  finally  in  1802  went  with  Nathan  and  David 
Ford  to  Ogdensburg,  where  they  were  the  pioneers. 
Preston  King,  who  it  will  be  remembered  was  at  one  time 
collector  of  the  port  of  New  York,  and  committed  suicide 
by  jumping  from  a  ferryboat  in  the  North  River,  was  a 
son  of  this  John  King. 

An  incident  to  illustrate  the  capacity  of  these  early 
forges  is  thus  narrated  by  the  late  William  Jackson: — 
While  Colonel  Jacob  Ford  owned  and  worked  the  Middle 
forge  he  lived  at  Morristown.  One  Saturday  evening  he 
returned  home  in  fine  spirits  and  said  to  his  wife:  "  Now, 
wife,  you  must  make  one  of  your  largest  short  cakes,  for 
I  have  made  one  of  the  largest  loops  ever  made  in  the 
county.  How  much  do  you  think  it  weighed  ?"  he  asked 
his  wife.  Of  course  she  could  not  tell  and  asked  him 
how  much.  He  answered,  "  It  weighed  28^  pounds  ! 
was  not  that  a  big  one  !" 

Peter  Hasenclever,  a  German  born  at  Remscheid,  in 
1 7 16,  came  to  this  country  about  1764  as  the  representa- 
tive of  the  London  Company.  Within  three  years  he  is 
said  to  have  built  a  furnace  at  Charlotteburgh  (on  the 
borders  of  Morris  county)  and  three  miles  further  down 
stream  a  "  finery  forge,"  with  four  fires  and  two  ham- 
mers, capable  of  making  250  tons  of  bar  iron  a  year 
single  handed  and  from  300  to  350  tons  double  handed; 
and  a  mile  lower  down  still  a  second  forge,  of  equal  ca- 
pacity. He  introduced  many  improvements  in  the  manu- 
facture of  iron  and  increased  the  capacity  of  the  forges. 
Governor  Franklin  appointed  a  committee,  consisting  of 
Lord  Stirling,  Colonel  John  Schuyler,  Major  Tunis  Day 
and  James  Grey,  to  examine  into  his  acts  in  behalf  of  his 
company,  with  whom  he  had  gotten  into  difficulty.  This 
commission,  reporting  at  Newark  July  8th  1768,  testified 
to  the  perfection  of  his  iron  works  and  to  the  fact  that  he 
had  introduced  many  improvements  in  the  manufacture 
of  iron,  some  of  which  had  been  adopted  in  England. 
They  said:  "  He  is  the  first  person  that  we  know  who 
has  so  greatly  improved  the  use  of  the  great  natural 
ponds  of  this  country  as  by  damming  them  to  secure 
reservoirs  of  water  for  the  use  of  iron  works  in  the  dry 
season,  without  which  the  best  streams  are  liable  to  fail 
in  the  great  droughts  we  are  subject  to."  They  further 
said  that  he  was  the  first  to  make  old  cinder  beds  profit- 
able; that  he  improved  the  furnaces  by  building  the  in- 
walls  of  slate  instead  of  stones,  which  seldom  lasted 
longer  than  a  year  or  two,  and  by  placing  the  stack  under 
roof;  that  he  only  used  overshot  wheels,  and  "  around 
the   hammer-wheel,  shafts    with    strong   cast-iron  rings, 


44 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


whose  arms  served  as  cogs  to  lift  the  hammer  handle." 
The  commission,  whose  members  were  all  interested  in 
iron  works  and  mines,  and  so  able  to  speak  authoritatively, 
said  these  contrivances  were  new  ones — "  at  least  they 
are  new  in  America."  It  may  be  interesting  to  know 
that  Hasenclever  was  justified  by  a  decision  of  Lord 
Thurlow  in  England  after  a  long  litigation,  and  that  he 
was  so  successful  as  a  linen  manufacturer  in  Silesia  that 
he  refused  as  advantageous  invitation  from  Benjamin 
Franklin  to  return  to  America. 

After  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  especially  in  the  de- 
cade preceding  and  in  that  following  1800,  many  new 
forges  were  built,  of  larger  size  and  some  of  them  prob- 
ably occupying  sites  of  others  which  had  gone  down. 
In  a  letter  written  to  Richard  Henry  Lee  in  1777  Wash- 
ington states  that  in  "  Morris  county  alone  tliere  are  be- 
tween eighty  and  one  hundred  iron  works,  large  and 
small."  Unless  the  writer  counted  each  fire  of  every 
forge  it  is  impossible  to  verify  this  statement  by  locating 
the  iron  works,  or  even  then  unless  some  of  those  known 
to  have  been  built  at  a  later  period  were  built  on  sites  of 
■  older  forges.  Charcoal  furnaces  had  been  built  before 
the  war,  but  while  ore  and  charcoal  were  so  abundant, 
and  the  work  of  refining  so  little  understood,  there  was 
sufficient  demand  for  bloomary  iron  to  make  work  for  all 
the  forges;  and  the  time  of  greatest  prosperity  among  the 
bloomaries  was  the  earlier  part  of  this  century  and  before 
anthracite  coal  came  into  use. 

Besides  the  forges  mentioned,  some  of  which  were  still 
in  operation,  the  principal  other  forges  of  the  county 
after  the  war  were  as  follows: 

Beginning  at  the  head  waters  of  the  west  branch  of  the 
Rockaway  River  we  have  nearest  its  source  the  Hopewell 
forge,  near  the  boundary  line  of,  if  not  within,  Sussex 
county.  It  was  built,  tradition  says,  by  Colonel  Samuel 
Ogden,  of  Boonton,  and  was  probably  rebuilt  by  Samuel 
G.  I.  De  Camp  about  181 2.  It  has  long  been  idle,  and 
is  going  to  ruin. 

The  next  forge,  a  mile  below  Hopewell,  called  "Russia," 
was  built  before  1800,  and  was  long  known  as  William 
Headley's  forge.  Prof.  Cook  places  its  erection  as  early 
as  1775.  It  was  an  old  forge  in  1806,  when  it  was  owned 
by  William  Fichter.  It  was  owned  in  1828  by  Joseph 
Chamberlain,  and  is  now  by  Jetur  R.  Riggs.  Colonel 
Samuel  Ogden  conveyed  the  land  on  vvhich  it  was  built 
to  Thomas  Keepers  in  1800;  and  Mrs.  Davenport, 
Thomas  Keepers's  daughter,  says  that  there  were  forges 
here  and  at  Hopewell  before  1800,  which  were  called 
"  Upper  and  Lower  Farmingham  forges."  Situate  as 
Russia  forge  is,  just  where  the  river  issues  from  the 
mountains  with  a  fall  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet,  the  site 
was  a  most  desirable  one  and  was  probably  early  taken 
up. 

The  next  forge,  a  mile  lower  down,  was  called  the 
"  Swedeland  forge."  It  was  built  by  John  Dow,  Cor- 
nelius Davenport  and  Jacob  Riker,  before  1800.  Dow 
was  the  leading  spirit  in  the  enterprise.  In  1806  Colonel 
John  Stanburrough  took  possession  of  the  premises,  and 
he  operated  the  forge  more  or  less  at  intervals  until  his 


death,  which  occurred  in  1862.  He  took  the  premium 
of  the  Morris  County  Agricultural  Society  over  fifty 
years  ago  for  making  a  ton  of  octagon  iron  in  the  shortest 
time.  The  premium  was  a  silver  oup,  which  is  held  as 
an  heirloom  in  the  family  by  his  youngest  daughter,  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Dalrymple,  of  Branchville,  N.  J.  The  forge 
has  been  repaired  by  Albert  R.  Riggs,  its  present  owner, 
and  is  now  in  a  better  state  of  preservation  than  any 
other  forge  in  Jefferson  township. 

The  next  forge,  about  one  and  a  half  miles  below 
Swedeland,  is  Petersburg.  This  is  a  very  old  forge,  some 
placing  its  erection  as  early  as  1730.  The  land  was  lo- 
cated for  Robert  Hunter  Morris  and  James  Alexander, 
June  3d  1754.  Jonah  Austin  mortgaged  to  Abraham 
Ogden,  October  ist  1777.  one  quarter  interest  in  the 
forge  and  lot  called  "  Petersburg."  It  has  also  been 
called  "  Arnold's  "  forge,  having  once  been  owned  by 
Jacob  Arnold,  of  the  Speedwell  iron  works.  It  has  been 
transferred  many  times,  but  has  now  gone  to  decay.  The 
site  is  owned  by  Lev/is  Chamberlain. 

On  a  branch  of  the  Rockaway  River  which  comes  in 
from  the  east  below  Petersburg  is  built  the  "  Hard  Bar- 
gain "  forge,  now  owned  by  Stephen  Strait.  It  stands 
on  the  same  tract  originally  as  the  Petersburg  forge,  from 
which  it  is  distant  only  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  an  air  line. 
It  was  built  about  1795,  by  an  association  of  persons 
among  whom  were  John  Dow,  Christian  Strait,  John 
Davenport  and  others.  Though  a  one-fired  forge  it  had 
at  one  tmie  nine  partners.  In  1828  it  belonged  to  Adams 
&  Dean.  The  buildings  are  still  in  good  repair,  but  have 
long  been  disused. 

Passing  down  the  Rockaway  River  about  one  and  a 
half  miles  we  come  next  to  Woodstock  forge.  This  is  of 
comparatively  recent  origin,  having  been  built  about  the 
year  1825,  by  Ephraim  Adams,  James  L.  Dickerson  and 
Stephen  Adams.  The  tract  of  land  (1,748  acres)  upon 
which  it  stands  was  returned  to  Skinner  &  Johnson  for 
Thomas  Kinney  in  1774.  This  forge  never  made  a  large 
quantity  of  iron,  the  fall  in  the  stream  being  insufficient 
to  give  proper  hammering  capacity  to  draw  out  the  iron 
when  made.  It  belongs  to  Zopher  O.  Talmadge,  who 
uses  it  as  a  distillerv. 

The  next  forge  below  Woodstock  is  the  Upper  Long- 
wood  forge,  which  stands  in  the  same  tract  of  1,748 
acres  as  the  Woodstock.  It  is  a  very  old  forge  and 
large  quantities  of  iron  have  been  made  there.  John 
De  Camp  became  its  owner  about  1798  and  it  is  said  to 
have  been  rebuilt  by  him  on  a  new  foundation,  a' freshet 
having  carried  out  the  old  works.  De  Camp,  who  carried 
on  the  forge  until  1817,  was  a  brother  of  Joseph,  Lemuel 
and  David  De  Camp,  all  of  whom  were  more  or  less  en- 
gaged in  iron  manufacture.  An  anchor  shop  was  at  one 
time  attached  to  this  forge,  in  which  large  quantities  of 
anchors  were  manufactured  and  many  men  employed. 
The  forge  buildings  have  fallen  or  been  torn  down,  and 
the  property,  containing  some  2,00c  acres  of  land,  is  now 
owned  by  John  Kean,  of  Elizabeth. 

The  next  forge  in  order  and  a  mile  lower  down  the 
stream  is  the   Lower  Longwood  forge,  standing  on  the 


FORGES  ON  THE  ROCKAWAY. 


45 


same  tract  of  1,748  acres  above  mentioned.  It  is  said 
to  have  been  built  by  Ebenezer  Tuttle  and  Grandin 
Morris,  about  1796,  and  bought  by  Canfield  &  Losey 
in  1806.  From  them  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Black- 
well  &  McFarlan.  It  is  now  the  property  of  John  Hance, 
but  has  long  ceased  to  be  a  forf;,e. 

Below  Lower  Longwood  was  the  old  Speedwell  or 
Ford  forge,  already  spoken  of. 

For  much  of  the  above  information  respecting  the 
forges  on  the  upper  Rockaway  we  are  indebted  to 
Horace  Chamberlain,  of  Oakridge,  formerly  a  member 
of  the  Legislature  from  this  county,  a  gentleman  whose 
local  knowledge  and  lifelong  experience  as  a  surveyor 
have  made  him  very  familiar  with  the  history  especially 
of  the  northerly  part  of  the  county. 

Next  in  order  is  the  "  Valley  forge,"  within  sight  of 
the  track  of  the  Morris  and  Essex  Railroad,  which  was 
built  by  Jared  Coe  and  Minard  Lefever,  probably  before 
or  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  Prof.  Cook  places  the 
date  at  1780.  It  came  into  the  hands  of  Canfield  &  Losey 
about  1800,  and  was  burned  down  in  i8r4.  Jeremiah 
Baker,  the  son-in-law  of  Andrew  King,  and  who  had 
already  commenced  to  acquire  the  large  property  which 
he  afterward  possessed,  built  it  up  with  an  agreement  to 
purchase;  but  after  working  it  for  a  year  Canfield  & 
Losey  took  it  back,  and  Baker  bought  it  a  second  time  of 
Blackwell  &  McFarlan,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  bus- 
iness and  property  of  Canfield  &  Losey,  in  1817.  This 
was  with  an  understanding  that  Blackwell  &  McFarlan 
should  take  all  the  iron  he  made.  In  1828  it  again 
burned  down,  and  was  rebuilt  by  Mr.  Baker.  In  1875  it 
was  burned  a  third  time,  \vhile  rented  by  Messrs.  Mc- 
Clees,  of  New  York,  from  Henry  and  William  H.  Baker, 
to  whom  their  father  had  devised  it.  It  has  not  been 
rebuilt. 

The  next  forge  on  the  west  branch,  and  just  before  its 
junction  with  the  east  branch  of  the  Rockaway,  is  Wash- 
ington forge,  which  was  built  by  Charles  Hoff  and  his 
brother-in-law  Joseph  De  Camp  about  the  year  1795. 
Charles  Hoff  sold  his  half  to  Joseph  Hurd  in  1808,  and 
the  De  Camp  heirs  theirs  10  Joseph  Dickerson,  who  owned 
the  whole  in  1828.  It  was  run  by  Henry  McFarlan 
until  within  a  few  years. 

Beginning  at  the  head  waters  of  the  east  branch  of  the 
Rockaway  River,  or,  as  it  is  called,  Burnt  Meadow 
Brook,  the  first  forge  was  the  "  Burnt  Meadow  forge,"  or 
"Denmark,"  owned  by  Harriman  &  Sayre,  and  Jacob 
Ford  jr.,  as  we  have  seen,  in  its  beginning.  In  1806  the 
Fords  sold  to  Benjamin  Holloway,  who  built  the  present 
or  last  forge.  Hubbard  S.  Stickle  stated  that  he  man- 
aged for  Holloway  from  December  1806  to  December 
1807,  while  it  was  being  built.  The  old  forge  had  then 
entirely  disappeared.  Holloway  failed  in  1818,  and  in 
1823  It  was  bought  by  George  Stickle  (father  of  Hubbard 
S.  Stickle),  who  sold  it  in  182  r  to  John  Hardy.  John 
M.  Eddy  bought  in  1841  and  carried  it  on  for  several 
years,  when  it  fell  into  the  possession  of  Edward  R. 
Biddle,  then  the  owner  of  Mt.  Hope.  It  finally,  in  1858, 
came  to  the  possession  of  Ernest  Fiedler,  of  New  York 


city,  to  whose  heirs  it  still  belongs.      It  has  long  been 
disused. 

About  forty  years  ago  "  Big  "  Samuel  Merritt  built  a 
forge  on  a  little  brook  running  out  of  Gravel  Dam, 
on  what  is  called  the  Garrigus  place,  near  Denmark; 
but  it  was  a  small  affair  and  soon  abandoned. 

The  next  forge  down  the  stream  was  "  Middle  forge," 
already  mentioned.  In  1773  Colonel  Jacob  Ford  sen. 
conveyed  this  forge  to  Colonel  Jacob  Ford  jr.,  and  in 
1778  the  executors  of  Jacob  Ford  jr.  conveyed  it  to  John 
Jacob  Faesch,  who  ran  it  in  connection  with  his  works  at 
Mount  Hope  until  his  death,  June  28th  1800.  General 
John  Doughty,  as  commissioner  appointed  to  sell  the 
lands  of  Faesch,  conveyed  it  to  Moses  Phillips  jr..  who 
rebuilt  and  ran  the  forge  for  a  number  of  years.  Under 
him  it  was  called  the  "  Aetna  forge."  In  1839  it  came 
into  the  hands  of  Samuel  F.  Righter,  who  conveyed  it  in 
r8s3  to  his  brother  George  E.  Righter.  He  ran  it  till 
within  a  few  years,  when  it  was  permitted  to  go  to  decay. 
The  United  States  purchased  the  forge  seat  in  1880  with 
the  large  tract  of  land  around  it  of  Mr.  Righter,  and  the 
government  is  now  putting  up  extensive  powder  maga- 
zines there.  For  this  purpose  no  other  place  was  found 
to  contain  equal  advantages.  It  was  very  easy  of  access 
to  the  seaboard,  possessed  a  valuable  water  power,  and 
the  tract  was  as  secluded  as  could  be  desired. 

The  next  forge  is  the  Mount  Pleasant  forge,  already 
spoken  of.  Here  were  at  one  time  a  four-fire  forge 
above  the  bridge  and  a  smaller  one  below.  The  upper 
or  large  forge  was  down  before  the  beginning  of  this 
century;  the  lower  one  was  standing  to  within  a  few 
years. 

The  Rockaway  River  after  the  union  of  its  two 
branches  flows  first  through  Dover,  where  were  the  old 
Josiah  Beman  forge  and  Schooley's  forge  (the  Quaker 
iron  works),  already  mentioned,  and,  it  is  said,  a  forge 
built  by  Moses  Doty.  Of  these  only  one  survived  to 
the  present  century  and  became  merged  in  the  extensive 
iron  works  of  Canfield  &  Losey,  which  will  be  spoken  of 
hereafter. 

Below  Dover  the  first  forge  on  the  Rockaway  River 
was  the  old  iron  works  of  "  Job  Allen,"  where  is  the 
present  forge  at  Rockaway,  of  which  an  account  has 
been  given. 

The  lower  forge  at  Rockaway  was  built  by  Stephen 
Jackson,  after  he  had  sold  his  interest  in  the  upper  one 
and  found  Faesch  unwilling  to  sell  it  back  to  him.  He 
had  served  as  captain  of  militia  cavalry  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  and  in  the  severe  winter  of  1780-1  was  occu- 
pied with  his  company  reconnoitering  the  enemy's  lines 
below  Short  Hills.  In  this  service  he  contracted  a  pul- 
monary disease  which  he  supposed  would  terminate 
fatally,  and  in  this  belief  sold  his  forge  to  Faesch. 
Afterward,  recovering  his  health,  he  tried  in  vain  to  re- 
purchase it.  A  freshet  in  the  winter  of  1794-5  formed 
an  ice  dam  below  the  upper  dam  and  on  his  own  land. 
He  was  prompt  to  act  on  this  suggestion,  building  the 
next  year  the  lower  dam  and  forge  at  Rockaway,  which 
he  sold  in  rSog  to  his  son  Joseph.     It  remained  in  his 


46 


History  of  morris  county. 


possession  until  1852,  when  he  conveyed  it  with  the 
rolling-mill  to  Freeman  Wood.  It  was  never  afterward 
used  as  a  bloomary  forge.  It  was  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  steel,  but  only  for  a  short  time,  and  was  then 
suffered  to  fall  to  pieces  after  the  last  war. 

A  mile  below  the  village  of  Rockaway  a  stream  joins 
the  Rockaway  River,  coming  from  the  north,  known  as 
Beaver  Brook.  It  is  made  up  of  three  principal  streams 
—the  White  Meadow  Brook,  upon  which  were  built  the 
White  Meadow  forge  and  Guinea  forge  already  men- 
tioned; the  Beach  Glen  Brook,  upon  which  were  the 
Hibernia  forge  and  the  Beach  Glen  forge  (the  old 
"Johnson  iron  works");  and  the  Meriden  Brook,  upon 
which  were  the  Durham  forge,  the  Split  Rock  forge  and 
the  two  Meriden  forges. 

Hibernia  forge  was  built  by  William  Scott  after  the 
furnace  there  went  down.  It  ran  but  a  short  time,  and 
has  been  gone  for  forty  years  at  least.  Of  the  Beach 
Glen  forge  mention  has  already  been  made. 

Durham  forge,  at  Greenville,  was  built  by  Ebenezer 
Cobb,  about  the  year  1800.  Its  site  belongs  to  the  estate 
of  Andrew  B.  Cobb,  deceased;  but  though  the  dam  still 
retains  a  pond  there  is  nothing  left  of  the  forge  but  the 
heavy  castings,  which  vegetation  has  almost  covered  up. 

The  Split  Rock  forge. was  built  about  1790,  by  a  Mr, 
Farrand.  It  was  bought  by  Colonel  Lemuel  Cobb,  and 
formed  part  of  that  large  tract  of  about  3,000  acres  at 
Split-rock  which  was  divided  among  his  three  heirs — 
Andrew  B.  Cobb,  Mrs.  William  C.  H.  Waddell  and  Mrs. 
Benjamin  Howell.  The  forge  in  the  division  fell  to 
Andrew  B.  Cobb,  and  still  forms  a  part  of  his  estate. 
The  old  bloomary  fires,  however,  have  been  replaced  by 
a  Wilson  deoxidizer,  which,  by  a  process  that  introduces 
the  ore  heated  and  mingled  with  heated  pulverized  char- 
coal to  three  fires  arranged  around  one  stack,  makes  a 
charcoal  bloom  similar  to  that  of  the  old-fashioned  fire, 
but  much  more  rapidly. 

Of  the  two  forges  at  Meriden,  one  on  the  north  side 
and  the  other  on  the  south  side  of  the  public  road,  the 
upper  one  was  built  shortly  after  Split  Rock  and  possibly 
by  the  same  parties,  the  lower  one  by  Peter  Hiler,  about 
1820.  Colonel  John  Hinchman,  of  Denville,  once  owned 
this  lower  forge;  from  him  it  passed  to  John  Righter,  of 
Parsippany.  Both  forges  have  been  down  for  many 
years. 

Below  the  mouth  of  Beaver  Brook,  at  Denville,  Den 
Brook  enters  the  Rockaway  from  the  southwest.  Upon 
this  stream  were  the  Shongum,  Ninkey,  Cold-rain  and 
Franklin  forges,  which  have  been  mentioned. 

Near  the  Rockaway  River  in  Rockaway  Valley,  on  a 
brook  coming  from  the  hills  on  the  west,  James  Dixon 
built  in  1830  the  forge  which  was  operated  for  about 
thirty  years  by  him  and  his  two  sons  Cyrus  and  William. 

On  another  little  stream  which  joins  the  Rockaway  at 
Rockaway  Valley,  and  about  two  miles  north  of  the 
Valley  church,  a  forge  was  built  by  John  Deeker  about 
1825  and  called  Deeker's  forge.  It  was  running  to 
within  a  few  years  of  the  last  war. 

Following   down    the    Rockaway   the   next   forge    is 


Powerville  forge,  built  in  1794  by  William  Scott.  In 
1836  Scott  built  the  rolling-mill  on  the  same  property. 
In  the  division  of  Colonel  Scott's  real  estate  this  fell  to 
his  son  Elijah  D.  Scott,  who  by  deed  and  devise  con- 
veyed it  to  Thomas  Willis,  in  whose  family  the  property 
still  remains.  The  forge  is  yet  in  working  order,  though 
like  the  one  at  Rockaway  used  principally  for  working 
over  scrap. 

Three  miles  below  Powerville  on  the  Rockaway  is  Old 
Boonton,  of  whose  slitting-mill  mention  will  be  made 
hereafter.  In  connection  with  this  mill  was  a  four-fire 
forge,  which  long  survived  the  other  mills  and  was  in  op- 
eration until  a  late  date. 

Besides  the  forges  mentioned  there  were  in  the  county 
several  others.  Benjamin  Roome  writes  that  Simon  Van 
Ness  had  a  forge  on  the  Morris  county  side  of  the  Pe- 
quannock  River,  about  one  and  a  half  miles  above  Bloom- 
ingdale,  which  was  worked  by  Robert  Colfax  as  late  as 
about  181 1,  when  a  freshet  tore  it  to  pieces  and  it  was  not 
rebuilt. 

In  1821-2  Hubbard  S.  Stickle  built  the  Montgomery 
forge,  on  Stone  Meadow  Brook,  a  tributary  of  the  Pe- 
quannock,  about  two  miles  above  Stony  Brook.  It  is 
no  longer  in  operation.         < 

About  the  same  time  Timber  Brook  forge  was  built 
near  Greenville,  on  Copperas  Brook,  a  stream  running 
north  into  the  Pequannock,  by  John  Dow.  It  was  owned 
in  1828  by  George  Stickle,  and  afterward  by  Matthias 
Kitchel.  Since  the  death  of  Mr.  Kitchel  it  has  been  suf- 
fered to  go  to  decay. 

On  the  stream  running  south  into  Lake  Hopatcong 
were  built  two  forges.  The  upper  one,  called  the  "  Well- 
done  " — since  shortened  into  Weldon — forge,  was  built 
by  Major  Moses  Hopping,  probably  about  1800.  The 
land  was  located  in  1793.  The  forge  now  belongs  to 
Hon.  William  E.  Dodge,  of  New  York.  The  lower 
forge  was  built  shortly  before  the  other,  probably  in 
1795,  by  Daniel  and  Joseph  Hurd,  and  called  by  them 
"  New  Partners." 

On  the  Musconetcong  River  there  were  several  forges, 
but  mostly  on  the  Sussex  side  of  the  river. 

June  5th  1764  Benjamin  and  Thomas  Coe  deeded  to 
Garret  Rapalye  "  all  one  half  of  a  certain  forge  with  one 
fire,  and  one  equal  undivided  half  part  of  five  acres  of 
land  which  was  surveyed  for  the  use  of  s'd  forge,  with 
half  of  the  stream  or  water  only  (excepting  what  the  saw- 
mill now  standing  upon  the  same  premises  draw),  stand- 
ing, lying  and  being  upon  Musconetcong  River,  in  the 
province  of  New  Jersey  aforesaid,  near  the  uppermost 
falls  below  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Pond."  January  ist 
1768  Rapalye  leased  to  Joseph  and  John  Tuttle,  who 
were  brothers  and  living  then  in  Hanover,  his  iron  works 
for  five  years  at  ^300  a  year,  reserving  the  right  to  build 
a  furnace  on  one  end  of  the  dam.  The  Tuttles  were  to 
deliver  all  the  iron  they  made  to  Rapalye  in  New  York 
for  _;^28  per  ton  for  refined  iron,  and  ^^24  per  ton  for 
Whippany  or  bloomed  iron,  but  the  prices  to  vary  with 
changes  in  the  market.  This  lease  was  so  onerous  that 
it  caused  the  failure  of  the  Tuttles. 


FORGES  ON  THE  RARITAN  AND  PEQUANNOCK. 


47 


In  the  New  Jersey  Gazette,  1778,  is  noticed  the  sale  of 
a  large  tract  of  land  "  at  the  head  of  the  Musconetcong 
River,  about  35  miles  from  Elizabethtown  and  4  from 
Suckasunny  Plains,  containing  about  3,000  acres,  having 
on  it  a  large  forge  with  four  fires  and  two  hammers,  * 
*  *  which  is  now  under  lease  for  eight  and  a  half  tons 
of  bar  iron  per  annum."  Rapalye  mortgaged  this  forge 
to  a  London  merchant,  and  on  foreclosure  of  this  mort- 
gage it  was  sold  in  1809  by  the  sheriff  to  Thomas  Cad- 
wallader,  a  lawyer  of  Philadelphia.  September  25th 
181 1  Cadwallader  sold  it  to  James  and  John  R.  Hinch- 
man,  for  $1,000. 

William  Jackson  wrote  that  the  Brooklyn  forge  was 
built  by  Phineas  Fitz  Randolph  previous  to  1800,  and 
carried  on  by  him  and  James  Hinchman  for  many  years. 
In  1828  it  was  said  to  be  the  property  of  Charles  F.  Ran- 
dolph. 

The  Stanhope  forges  were  built  by  Silas  Dickerson, 
brother  of  Governor  Mahlon  Dickerson,  soon  after  Brook- 
lyn forge  was  built.  They  were  carried  on  by  him  until  he 
was  killed  in  the  nail  factory  which  he  had  just  built,  in 
1807. 

On  the  south  branch  of  the  Raritan  there  were  at  least 
three  forges.  William  Stephens  built  one  in  1840  about 
a  mile  below  Budd's  Lake,  which  was  in  operation  but  a 
few  years,  when  it  went  down.  George  Salmon  owned 
one  at  Upper  Bartleyville,  which  was  running  as  late  as 
1862;  and  .at  Bartleyville  was  the  old  forge  known  as 
"  Welsh's  forge,"  which  ran  down  about  1840.  Professor 
Cook  gives  the  date  of  its  erection  asji79o. 

There  is  located  on  an  old  map  (1823)  the  site  of  an 
"extinct  forge,"  called  Eaton,  near  Bartleyville,  and 
another  below  the  junction  of  the  north  and  south 
branches,  called  "  Casterline's." 

On  the  north  branch  at  Flanders  was  an  old  forge, 
built  by  William  Hinchman  in  1802,  and  which  ran  for 
about  forty  years.  In  181 2  he  advertised  in  the  7l/i??-w- 
town  Herald  a  large  amount  of  property  for  sale,  includ- 
ing "  an  excellent  two-fire  forge,  in  complete  repair,  for 
making  bar  iron,  with  workmen's  houses,  orchards, 
gardens,  &c." 

On  Black  River  were  also  three  forges — one,  whose 
ruins  are  remembered  by  old  people — about  a  mile  above 
the  grist-mill  of  the  late  General  Cooper;  one  at  Hackle- 
barney,  which  was  running  until  a  late  date,  and  one 
about  a  mile  below  Hacklebarney,  which  has  long  gone 

to  decay. 

At  Shippenport  was  built  in  1844  a  forge,  to  run  by 
the  waste  water  of  the  Morris  Canal  in  summer  and  by  a 
small  natural  stream  at  other  seasons.  This  forge  was 
greatly  enlarged  by  Anson  G.  P.  Segur  a  few  years  ago, 
and  it  is  still  in  working  order. 

Of  the  forges  on  the  Pequannock  River,  which  is  the 
northerly  boundary  line  of  the  county,  it  is  proper  to 
give  some  account,  though  the  buildings  were  not  on  the 
Morris  county  side  of  the  river.  Horace  Chamberlain 
has  furnished  the  following  information  concerning  them: 

Before  the  river  leaves  Sussex  county,  at  the  head  waters 
was  Canistear  forge,  worked  at  one  time  by  'Squire  Adam 


Smith  and  the  Day  brothers.  It  has  long  since  gone  into 
disuse.  Below  this  forge  is  "  Margoram  forge,"  so  named 
from  its  former  owner  Stephen  F.  Margoram.  It  was 
carried  away  by  the  freshets  of  1850.  Mr.  Margoram 
said  to  Mr.  Chamberlain,  after  that  event,  that  he  had 
been  trying  to  get  out  of  the  iron  business,  but  the 
freshets  had  closed  him  out.  Going  down  the  river,  just 
below  the  junction  of  its  two  branches,  near  Snufftown, 
are  the  ruins  of  another  old  forge — probably  the  creation 
of  the  enterprising  spirit  of  John  O.  Ford,  one  of  the 
leading  forgemen  of  his  day.  It  was  called  "  New 
forge,"  and  from  this  it  may  be  supposed  it  was  built 
after  the  others;  but  they  were  all  of  them  comparatively 
recent. 

Farther  down  the  river  but  still  in  Sussex  county  is 
"  Windham  forge."  The  corner  of  the  counties  of  Mor- 
ris and  Passaic  in  the  line  of  Sussex  county  is  a  rock 
marked  "  M.  S.,"  on  the  edge  of  the  stream,  about  four 
chains  below  this  forge.  Windham  was  built  by  John  O. 
Ford  and  run  by  him  and  his  sons,  the  last  one  of  whom 
was  Sidney  Ford,  who  finished  his  career  as  an  iron- 
maker  there.  After  Sidney  Ford  left  it  Frederick  W. 
Dellecker,  formerly  surrogate  of  the  county,  became  the 
owner,  and  from  him  it  passed  to  Albert  R.  Riggs,  its 
present  owner.  It  is  the  only  forge  on  the  Pequannock 
which  is  still  in  working  order. 

Next  in  order  down  the  stream  are  the  ruins  of  the 
old  "  Warner  forge,"  so  called  from  the  Warner  broth- 
ers, who,  associated  with  a  man  named  Hoops,  under  the 
firm  name  of  "  Warner  &  Hoops,"  purchased,  improved 
and  enlarged  the  forge  about  the  year  1840,  and  after 
several  years'  unsuccessful  operation  vacated  the  prem- 
ises and  returned  to  Pennsylvania,  their  native  State. 
The  site  is  now  owned  by  Peter  Tracy. 

Two  or  three  hundred  yards  down  the  stream  was  the 
"  Methodist  forge,''  in  after  years  known  as  "  John  Lewis 
forge."  By  whom  and  when  it  was  built  is  unknown, 
but  it  was  probably  built  by  John  O.  Ford.  After  Mr. 
Lewis  it  came  into  the  possession  of  Daniel  Hulme  and 
after  him  of  Ebenezer  W.  Temple.  It  is  now  owned  by 
his  brother  William  Temple. 

Stockholm,  next  in  order,  some  two  or  three  hundred 
yards  farther  down  the  stream,  was  probably  one  of  John 
O.  Ford's  enterprises.  It  remained  in  the  Ford  family 
until  carried  away  by  the  freshets  in  1850  while  being 
worked  by  Horace  Ford,  one  of  the  sons  of  John  O. 
Ford.  The  three  last  mentioned  forges  are  all  on  a  tract 
of  492.22  acres  returned  in  1800  and  known  as  John 
O.  Ford's  large  tract. 

About  three-eighths  of  a  mile  down  said  stream,  where 
the  mountains  seemingly  diverge  to  the  right  and  left  to 
give  room  for  that  valley  of  farming  land  known  as 
Newfoundland,  we  come  to  what  is  called  in  common 
parlance  the  "  Gregory  forge,"  from  its  founder,  Samuel 
S.  Gregory,  who  gave  it  the  more  classic  name  of  "  Car- 
thage." One  of  the  lots  of  this  forge  property  was  lo- 
cated in  1763.     It  now  belongs  to  Jetur  A.  Riggs. 

The  Pequannock  River  after  leaving  the  mountains 
flows  more  slowly  and  sluggishly  along,  now  to   the  right 


48 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


and  now  to  the  left,  through  the  farming  and  meadow 
lands  some  six  or  seven  miles  to  the  village  of  New- 
foundland, the  center  of  which  is  the  hotel  of  John  P. 
Brown.  At  this  village  a  small  forge  was  erected  about 
forty  years  ago  by  an  association  of  persons,  among 
whom  were  the  late  Peter  B.  Brown  and  Ebenezer  Cobb. 
It  stands  on  a  tract  of  320.16  acres  returned  for  James 
Alexander  and  Robert  H.  Morris,  October  25th  1754. 
This  forge  has  been  called  "  'Squire  Cobb's  forge," 
"  Cobb  &  Bigalow's  forge,"  and  '"  Bigalow  &  Dceker's 
forge,"  and  sometimes  "  Tobacco  forge  "  from  its  limited 
power.  Its  present  owner,  John  W.  Bigalow,  has  con- 
verted it  into  a  saw-mill. 

About  a  mile  above  Brown's  hotel  Cedar  Brook,  flow- 
ing from  the  north,  joins  the  Pequannock;  up  this  brook 
about  a  mile  was  the  celebrated  Clinton  iron--  works  (so 
called  in  honor  of  De  Witt  Clinton),  built  by  William 
Jackson  in  1826  and  in  the  six  years  following.  Though 
entirely  in  Passaic  county  it  was  a  Morris  county  enter- 
prise and  undertaken  by  Morris  county  men.  William 
Jackson  was  a  son  of  Stephen  Jackson  of  Rockaway,  and 
had  but  recently,  with  his  brother,  built  the  rolling-mill 
there.  Selling  out  his  interest  in  the  Rockaway  mill  he 
entered  this  then  perfectly  wild  forest  region,  erected  a 
saw-mill,  forge  and  blast  furnace,  sawed  timber  and  made 
iron,  which  he  carted  to  Dover  and  Rockaway  for  mar- 
ket. The  first  blast  was  made  under  the  supervision  of 
John  F.  Winslow,  a  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Jackson,  afterward 
one  of  the  i)roprietors  of  the  Albany  iron  works.  It 
commenced  October  4th  1833  and  continued  until  Feb- 
ruary 5th  1834.  The  second  blast  commenced  May  9th 
1834,  and  ended  April  29th  1835.  The  third  and  final 
blast  commenced  August  25th  1835,  and  ended  January 
30th  1836.  Mr.  Jackson  employed  many  men  and  teams 
in  the  transportation  of  his  lumber  and  iron  to  their 
destination,  and  the  returning  trips  were  made  with  ore. 
He  made  roads  and  built  dwelling  houses  and  out-build- 
ings for  his  men  and  teams  and  such  as  were  necessary 
for  his  business;  also  a  grist-mill.  An  anchor  shop  was 
built  and  anchors  were  made.  While  the  works  were 
being  constructed  iron  fell  one  half  or  more  in  price,  ow- 
ing to  the  tariff  legislation,  and  Mr.  Jackson  was  obliged 
to  stop  operations.  All  the  works  have  long  been  idle. 
Forge,  saw-mill  and  grist-mill  have  disappeared,  but  the 
furnace  stack  still  stands.  The  water  power  is  a  splendid 
one  and  the  water,  descending  in  three  or  four  falls  be- 
tween one  and  two  hundred  feet,  presents  a  beautiful  and 
romantic  place  to  visit. 

Mr.  Winslow  went  to  Troy,  N.  Y.,  where  he  entered 
into  partnership  with  Erastus  Corning.  The  "  Monitor," 
which  met  the  "  Merrimac  "  off  Fortress  Monroe  in  1861, 
was  built  by  them  and"  actually  owned  by  them  at  the 
time  of  its  wonderful  victory. 

About  two  miles  below  Mr.  Brown's  is  Charlotteburgh, 
or  Charlottenburg,  as  it  is  generally  called;  so  named,  it 
is  said,  in  honor  of  Queen  Charlotte.  Here,  as  has  been 
said,  the  London  Company  had  its  furnaces,  etc.,  before 
the  Revolutionary  war.  The  property  was  long  in  the 
possession  of  Chilion  Ford  De  Camp  and  his  son  Edward 


De  Camp,  both  Morris  county  men — the  latter  a  son-in- 
law  of  Colonel  William  Scott,  owner  at  one  time  of  Hi- 
bernia,  Povverville,  etc.  It  is  now  owned  by  Hon.  Abram 
S.  Hewitt. 

A  mile  below  Charlotteburgh  was  a  small  one-fire-forge, 
erected  by  the  late  John  Smith  in  1850,  at  a  place  called 
Smith's  Mills.  But  little  .iron  was  made  here — hardly 
enough  to  make  a  cinder  bank — and  it  long  ago  went 
to  destruction. 

The  next  forge  down  the  stream  is  the  Bloomingdale 
forge,  owned  by  Martin  John  Ryerson,  near  the  old 
Ogden  furnace.     It  is  not  now  in  operation. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


CHARCOAL     FURNACES — POMPTON,     HIBERNIA,     MT.     HOPE 
AND    SPLIT    ROCK. 


HE  first  furnace  within  the  present  limits  of 
Morris  county  was  probably  the  one  built  at 
Bloomingdale,  about  a  mile  above  Pompton, 
by  the  Ogdens.  Benjamin  Roome,  for  many 
years  a  deputy  surveyor  of  the  board  of  pro- 
prietors, and  who  has  been  engaged  all  his  life  in 
surveying  and  searching  titles  in  Morris  and 
Passaic,  ascribes  its  erection  to  them.  He  states  that  he 
saw  the  stack  still  looking  fair  seventy  years  ago.  It  was 
close  to  the  high  bank,  about  one-eighth  of  a  mile  below 
where  Stony  Brook  empties  into  the  Pequannock.  The 
Midland  Railroad  now  passes  just  in  front  of  its  site.  It 
has  not  been  in  blast  since  1800,  and  must  have  been 
built  many  years  before.  It  is  now  gone.  The  Ogdens 
were  from  Newark,  and  were  the  pioneers  in  furnace- 
building  in  this  section,  as  well  as  in  the  manufacture  of 
iron  generally.  April  15th  1740  Cornelius  Board  sold  to 
Josiah  Ogden,  John  Ogden  jr.,  David  Ogden  sen.,  David 
Ogden  jr.  and  Uzal  Ogden,  all  of  Newark  and  called  the 
"  Ringwood  Company,"  sixteen  acres  of  land  at  Ring- 
wood,  where  they  built  the  furnace  afterward  purchased 
of  them  in  1764  by  Peter  Hansclever  for  the  London 
Company.  The  Ringwood  Company  was  thus  the  pre- 
decessor of  the  London  Company.  Josiah  Ogden  and 
David  Ogden  were  brothers,  and  David  had  sons.  John, 
David  and  Uzal.  Josiah  had  a  son  named  David  and  one 
named  Jacob.  It  is  quite  probable  that  the  David  Ogden 
jr.  was  the  son  of  Josiah  Ogden,  and  the  same  afterward 
known  as  the  Old  Judge,  and  whose  sons — Samuel, 
Abraham  and  Isaac — were  men  of  mark  in  their  day, 
Samuel  being  in  partnership  with  or  succeeding  his  father 
in  Old  Boonton. 

November  27th  1766  John  Ogden  and  Uzal  Ogden  of 
Newark  mortgaged  to  Thomas  Pennington  and  Ferdi- 
nand Pennington,  of  Bristol,  England,  several  tracts  in 
the  counties  of  Bergen  and  Morris,  and  among  the  rest  a 
tract  at  Bloomingdale   partly  in   Morris  and  partly  in 


POMPTON  AND  HIBERNIA  FURNACES. 


49 


Bergen,  conveyed  to  them  in  two  lots — one,  containing 
137.64  acres,  by  Philip  Schuyler  and  wife,  August 
ist  1759;  'he  other,  containing  34  acres,  by  Guilliam 
Batolf,  October  1765.  It  is  altogether  probable  that  on 
this  tract  the  furnace  stood  and  that  the  deeds  to  the 
Ogdens  indicate  when  it  was  built. 

After  the  sale  in  1764  to  the  London  Company  by  the 
Ogdens  we  meet  frequently  with  their  names  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  iron  business  of  Morris  county.  Samuel 
Ogden  resided  at  Boonton.  April  17th  1776  Joseph 
Hoff  speaks  of  a  moulder  whom  he  desired  to  obtain 
having  been  applied  to  by  Messrs.  Ogden,  of  Pompton 
furnace,  to  work  at  that  business.  It  seems  from  this 
that  the  Ogdens  after  locating  at  Old  Boonton  still  had 
their  furnace  at  Pompton. 

HIBERNIA    FURNACE. 

If  the  Bloomingdale  furnace  was  not  built  before  1765 
then  the  first  one  in  the  county  was  the  Hibernia  furnace 
— styled  in  its  beginning  "  The  Adventure."  A  very  in- 
teresting sketch  of  this  enterprise  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  has  been  written  for  the  May  1880  meeting 
of  the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society  by  Rev.  Joseph  F. 
Tuttle,  D.  D.,  and  published  in  the  6th  volume  of  the 
society's  proceedings.  Much  of  the  material  used  in 
making  up  this  sketch  is  taken  from  that  article. 

Hibernia  is  situated  about  four  miles  north  of  Rocka- 
way  and  is  now  connected  with  it  by  a  railroad.  Horse- 
pond  Brook,  coming  from  between  high  hills  on  the  west, 
here  falls  into  a  little  valley  almost  surrounded  by  other 
hills.  On  the  northeast  side  of  this  valley  and  from  the 
side  of  one  of  these  hills  the  celebrated  vein  of  iron  ore 
outcropped.  Here  John  Johnston  obtained  his  ore  for 
his  "  iron  works  "  at  Beach  Glen,  without  troubling  him- 
self as  to  ownership.  May  17th  1753  Joshua  Ball 
located  the  level  ground  on  which  is  built  the  village  of 
Hibernia,  his  tract  covering  both  sides  of  the  brook  and 
a  strip  sixteen  chains  long  up  the  face  of  the  northerly 
hill,  containing  the  outcrop,  with  a  view,  no  doubt,  of 
including  the  vein  of  ore  for  that  distance.  July  ist 
1761  Colonel  Jacob  Ford  located  a  lot  of  1.87  acres 
on  the  vein  next  northeast  of  the  Ball  survey.  It  is  de- 
scribed as  "lying  upon  Horse  Pond  Mountain,  which  is  on 
the  east  side  of  Horse  Pound  Brook;"  and  the  metes  and 
bounds  begin  ninety-four  links  from  the  northwest  cor- 
ner of  Ball's  survey,  "  upon  a  mine  called  Horse  Pound 
mine."  The  land  about  this  tract  was  afterward  located 
by  Samuel  Ford,  and  disputes  frequently  arose  as  to  its 
boundaries,  by  reason  of  the  uncertainty  of  its  descrip- 
tion and  the  variations  of  the  magnetic  needle,  by  which 
the  lines  were  run  and  which  was  entirely  untrustworthy 
in  the  presence  of  such  large  bodies  of  magnetic  iron 
ore.     The    mine   on    this  lot   is    still  called  the  "  Ford 

mine." 

April  6th  1765  and  June  25th  1765  five  tracts  were  re- 
turned to  Samuel  Ford,  four  containing  ten  acres  each 
and  one  containing  10.34  acres,  which  were  "about 
one  mile  and  a  half  above  John  Johnston's  iron  works." 
They  were  upon   the  vein  of  ore  and   upon   the  stream 


above  the  Ball  survey.  They  were  located  evidently  for 
the  purpose  of  building  the  furnace,  and  the  work  was 
immediately  begun;  for  November  23d  1765,  in  describ- 
ing a  tract  of  land  returned  to  Henry  Tuttle,  farther  up 
the  stream,  it  was  said  to  be  "about  three  fourths  of  a 
mile  from  the  new  furnace  called  the  Adventure." 

Though  the  lands  were  returned  to  Ford  alone,  yet 
this  was  probably  for  greater  convenience  only,  as  Octo- 
ber 28th  1765  Ford  and  his  wife  Grace,  by  two  deeds  of 
that  date,  conveyed  one  third  of  the  several  lots  so  lo- 
cated to  James  Anderson  and  another  third  to  Benjamin 
Cooper,  retaining  the  other  third.  Of  James  Anderson 
very  little  can  be  gathered  except  the  recital  in  the  deed 
to  him  that  he  was  from  Sussex  county.  The  other  two 
partners  became  notorious  for  their  crimes,  which 
brought  one  under  sentence  of  the  gallows,  and  made  the 
other  a  fugitive  for  his  life.  Samuel  Ford  was  a  nephew 
of  Colonel  Jacob  Ford  sen.,  and  Cooper  was  a  son  of 
Daniel  Cooper,  one  of  the  judges  of  the  county.  Both 
were  found  to  be  engaged  in  counterfeiting;  and  Ford  is 
supposed  to  have  been  concerned  in  the  robbery  of  the 
treasury  at  Amboy,  in  1768.  Ford  was  the  master  spirit; 
and  Cooper,  when  convicted  and  sentenced  to  be  hung,  at 
the  September  term  of  the  Morris  court,  in  the  year  1773, 
charged  his  misfortune  to  his  partner.  The  history  of 
this  crime  and  the  fate  of  its  perpetrators  is  related  in 
another  part  of  this  book. 

September  17th  1765  a  lot  of  20.39  acres  adjoining 
the  Ball  survey  was  returned  to  Thomas  Stites,  and  by 
him  conveyed  to  Lord  Stirling;  and  the  next  year  and 
in  1768  and  1769  several  other  tracts  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Hibernia  were  returned  to  Lord  Stirling.  Three  of 
them  located  in  1766  are  said  to  be  for  the  purpose  of 
conveying  them  to  James  Anderson  and  Benjamin 
Cooper.  There  is  no  record  of  the  transaction;  but  it 
would  seem  from  these  locations,  and  from  the  fact  that 
in  177 1  a  suit  was  brought  against  Stirling,  Benjamin 
Cooper  and  Samuel  Ford,  that  Anderson  had  sold  his 
interest  to  Stirling  about  this  time.  From  a  letter 
written  by  Cooper  while  in  Morristown  jail  under  sen- 
tence of  death  it  also  appears  that  Ford  had  that  year 
conveyed  his  interest  to  Stirling,  and  that  he  (Cooper) 
had  done  the  same.  The  letter  was  written  in  his  dire 
extremity  with  a  view  to  interest  Stirling  in  his  welfare, 
and  pretending  that  he  could  be  of  great  assistance  to 
him  if  his  Hfe  was  spared,  and  could  show  him  wherein 
Ford  was  overreaching  him  in  the  sales.  Taking  all 
these  circumstances  into  account  it  is  probable  that  m 
1 771  Stirling  became  the  sole  owner  of  Hibernia. 

William  Alexander,  or  Lord  Stirling,  as  he  is  generally 
called,  was  a  man  of  high  character  and  standing,  and 
very  prominent  in  the  councils  of  the  State.  His  biog- 
raphy, written  by  his  grandson,  Hon.  William  A.  Duer, 
has  been  published  by  the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society; 
but  a  brief  account  of  his  life  may  properly  be  inserted 
here.  He  was  born  in  1726,  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
the  son  of  James  Alexander,  a  fugitive  from  Scotland  on 
account  of  his  adherence  to  the  house  of  Stuart.  On 
the-  breaking   out   of   the   French  war   in    1755    young 


5° 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


Alexander  became  the  aide-de-camp  of  General  Shirley, 
and  he  served  in  that  capacity  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  war.  In  1737  the  earldom  of  Stirling  became  vacant, 
and  on  the  death  of  his  father,  who  made  no  claim  to  it 
although  eniitled  to  do  so,  William  Alexander  preferred 
his  claim,  and  in  1757  went  to  England  to  press  his  suit 
in  person.  In  America  his  right  to  the  title  was  never 
questioned.  In  1761  he  returned  to  America,  and  shortly 
after  built  the  mansion  at  Basking  Ridge  in  which  he  after- 
ward resided.  He  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Provincial 
Council  and  held  that  office  till  the  Revolution.  He  was 
also  surveyor-general  of  the  State.  On  the  breaking  out 
of  the  war  he  was  commissioned  as  colonel  of  a  regiment 
of  Somerset  militia  by  the  Provincial  Congress  of  New 
Jersey;  but  before  the  regiment  could  be  gotten  ready 
he  was  appointed  by  Congress  to  take  command  of  two 
regiments  in  the  continental  service.  March  ist  1776  he 
was  commissioned  by  Congress  to  be  a  brigadier-general 
and  was  stationed  at  New  York.  At  the  battle  of  Long 
Island  he  was  captured,  with  a  force  of  about  four  hun- 
dred Marylanders,  part  of  his  command,  with  which  he 
had  attacked  a  superior  force  under  Cornwallis  in  order 
to  enable  the  main  body  of  his  men  to  escape.  On  the 
19th  of  February  1777  he  was  promoted  by  Congress  to 
be  a  major-general,  and  as  such  served  with  distinction 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Albany,  January  15th 
1783,  in  consequence  of  fatigue  of  body  and  mind,  to 
which  his  arduous  military  service  had  exposed  him. 

F'rom  the  building  of  the  Adventure  furnace  in  1765 
until  1775  the  business  of  making  iron  was  carried  on; 
but  to  what  extent  we  have  no  record.  After  1775  we 
have  some  account  of  its  operations  in  the  letters  of  Jo- 
seph and  Charles  Hoff,  who  were  Lord  Stirling's  man- 
agers at  Hibernia,  and  whose  letters  to  their  principal 
have  been  preserved.  In  that  year  Joseph  Hoff,  a 
brother-in-law  of  Benjamin  Cooper,  came  from  Hunter- 
don county  to  take  charge  of  the  works.  He  was  assisted 
at  first,  and  at  his  death,  in  1777,  succeeded  by  his 
brother  Charles  Hoff  jr.,  who  was  in  turn  assisted  by  a 
younger  brother  John.  Charles  Hoff  continued  to  be 
manager  at  Hibernia  until  1781,  when  he  removed  to 
Mount  Pleasant,  at  which  place  he  continued  to  reside 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  181 1.  Extracts  from 
his  letters  will  best  give  the  history  of  matters  during  the 
busy  scenes  of  the  war.  The  works  of  the  London  Com- 
pany had  been  burned,  and  the  furnace  at  Hibernia  and 
that  recently  erected  at  Mount  Hope  became  important 
to  both  the  army  and  people. 

On  May  17th  1775  Joseph  Hoff  writes  to  Robert 
Erskine,  the  manager  for  the  London  Company  at  Char- 
lotteburgh,  Long  Pond  and  Ringwood,  and  in  his  letter 
says: 

"  I  lately  received  a  letter  from  Messrs.  Murray,  N.  Y., 
informing  me  that  all  the  powder  in  that  place  had  been 
secured  for  the  safety  of  the  province  in  case  matters 
were  to  come  to  such  desperate  lengths  as  that  they  must 
have  recourse  to  blows  with  the  parent  State.  Alarmed 
at  this  piece  of  news  I  went  immediately  to  New  York  to 
know  what  was  to  be  done  with  the  works,  they  being 
lately  put  in  blast,  a  large  stock  of  wood  cut  and  great 


number  of  hands  employed  at  the  coaling  and  other 
business,  and  not  more  than  five  weeks  ore  now  raised. 
They  answered  me  that,  although  the  most  diligent 
search  has  been  made  for  powder,  not  a  single  pound 
was  to  be  had;  but  that  a  little  before  this  general  stop- 
page took  place  %  cwt.  had  been  sent  for  us  to  Eliza- 
bethtown,  which  they  hoped  would  serve  us  as  a  tem- 
porary relief  till  more  could  be  had.  I  went  immediately 
to  Elizabethtown,  where  I  found  the  committee  of  that 
place  had  seized  on  all  the  powder  we  had  there  and 
would  not  suffer  it  to  be  removed  in  this  exigency." 

The  letter  further  states  that  in  case  the  powder  is  not 
to  be  had  he  will  be  obliged  to  adopt  a  measure  "  disa- 
greeable to  both  of  us,"  and  prevent  Erskine  "  from,  tak- 
ing oar  from  the  upper  part  of  the  mine  called  Lord 
Stirling  vein,"  which  he  was  doing  under  permit  of 
Colonel  Ogden.  Colonel  Samuel  Ogden,  who  is  the  one 
referred  to,  claimed  an  interest  in  the  Ford  mine.  But 
this  threat  did  not  produce  the  desired  effect.  Erskine 
visited  Ogden  at  once  at  Old  Boonton  and  Ogden  main- 
tained his  right  to  the  ore. 

Under  date  of  May  25th  1775  Hoff  writes  to  Stirling: 
"  The  furnace  goes  well,  as  do  all  the  other  branches  of 
business.  We  have  made  70  tonus  iron  already,  but  not 
more  than  four  or  five  tonns  gone  down.  I  wrote  you 
we  received  two  casks  of  powder  from  E.  Town." 
Again  he  writes,  "  The  furnace  goes  extremely  well — we 
shall  make  at  least  twenty  tons  weekly." 

April  17th  1776  Hoff  writes  to  Messrs.  Murray  that 
"  Lord  Stirling  told  me  he  would  find  us  work  at  casting 
cannon  that  would  weigh  from  25  to  30  cwt.,  which  are 
9  or  12  pounders;  these  we  can  do,  but  not  heavier." 
He  further  inquires  as  to  quantity  and  price,  and  says, 
"  It  will  do  to  engage  at  45'  or  43;^  proc.  [proclamation 
money]  per  ton  provided  we  have  the  making  the  balls 
for  the  cannon,  and  they  should  alway  go  together."  In 
May  the  manager  drops  the  subject  of  cannon  to  write: 
"  Our  people  are  so  distressed  for  rum  that  I  believe  I 
must  have  one  hogshead,  let  the  price  be  what  it  will. 
They  must  pay  accordingly.  I  hope  you  will  not  forget 
about  the  powder."  June  9th  1776  he  writes:  "  All  the 
miners  have  been  quite  idle  for  want  of  powder.  The 
furnace  will  soon  get  ahead  of  us,  using,  the  ore  so  fast, 
when  it  will  be  impossible  for  the  miners  to  keep  her 
going." 

Under  the  same  date  he  writes  that  himself  and  Faesch 
are  anxious  to  receive  the  moulds  for  the  cannon,  etc., 
which  had  not  yet  arrived.     August  3d  Mr.  Hoff  writes: 

"  Last  night  we  made  a  trial  at  casting  one  of  the  guns, 
but  unfortunately  for  us  we  brought  the  furnace  too  low 
and  it  missed  in  the  breech.  All  the  rest  was  sound  and 
good.  We  have  had  to  make  a  good  many  preparations; 
our  clay  was  bad.  However,  we  are  not  discouraged, 
but  willing  to  try  again,  being  convinced  that  the  iron 
will  answer.  I  have  now  to  inform  you  that  we  shall  set 
about  it  with  all  the  vigor  imaginable.  We  shall  not, 
however,  cast  any  more  till  we  have  all  things  in  readi- 
ness. We  propose  to  have  twelve  or  fourteen  of  the 
moulds  ready  by  the  last  of  next  week,  after  which  the 
moulder  assures  me  he  will  make  three  or  four  a  day  till 
the  whole  are  finished.  But  as  a  most  enormous  expense 
attends  the  business  it  will  not  be  in  our  power  to  make 
the  small  guns  under  7d.'  York  money  per  pound.     If 


MILITARY  WORK  AT  HIBERNIA— HESSIAN  LABORERS. 


SI 


the  general  consents  thereto  you  will  please  by  the  return 
of  the  post  to  inform." 

Under  date  of  August  31st  1776  Mr.  Hoff  writes  to 
Colonel  Moylan: 

"A  certain  Mr.  Thomas  Ives  apply'd  to  me  to  make  a 
number — say  36  or  38  three-pounder  cannon  for  the 
giindolers.  We  had  two  ready  for  trial  some  two  days 
past.  I  wrote  twice  to  Mr.  Ives  to  come  up  for  that 
end,  but  not  hearing  from  him  I  yesterday  charged  the 
cannon  with  two  full  cartridges  made  up  for  the  three- 
pounder  and  two  balls,  and  have  the  pleasure  to  inform 
you  it  stood  and  is  undoubtedly  good.  I  made  no  agree- 
ment with  Mr.  Ives  as  to  the  price,  and  as  a  most  enor- 
mous expense  attends  the  business  I  do  not  choose  to  go 
on  till  I  hear  from  you.  I  have  consulted  with  Mr. 
Faesch  and  Messrs.  Ogden,  ironmasters,  and  we  are  clear 
that  we  cannot  make  cannon  at  less  than  ^^o  proc.  per 
ton  and  powder  to  prove  them.  If  you  consent  to  allow 
me  that  price  I  will  immediately  engage  a  set  of  mould- 
ers and  drive  on  the  business  with  spirit.     We  can  make, 

1  believe,  from  three  to  nine  and  perhaps  twelve-pound- 
ers. I  would  be  much  obliged  for  your  answer  by  the 
return  of  the  Morristown  post." 

Colonel  Stephen  Moylan,  to  whom  this  letter  was  ad- 
dressed, was  an  Irishman,  a  brave  patriot  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary army,  at  Cambridge  atWe  de  camp  of  Washing, 
ton,  made  commissary  general  in  March  1776,  but  soon 
resigned  for  want  of  exact  business  habits,  and  re-entered 
the  line  as  a  volunteer.  He  saw  much  service  and  was 
brevetted  brigadier  general.  He  died  in  Philadelphia, 
April  nth  [811. 

Under  date  of  November  14th  1776  Mr.  Hoff  writes  to 
Colonel  Knox  (chief  of  artillery  under  Washington):  "  I 
wrote  you  a  few  days  past  that  in  consequence  of  your 
letter  of  10th  ult.  we  had  got  everything  in  readiness  and 
had  cast  several  tons  of  the  shot,  but  that  it  was  alto- 
gether out  of  my  power  to  get  them  carted.  We  have 
now  upwards  of  35  tons  made,  and  as  the  furnace  is  doing 
no  other  business  shall,  I  hope  [be  able]  to  complete  the 
order.  Every  preparation  of  moulds,  flasks  &c.  for  the 
grape  shot  is  now  finished,  and  we  shall  soon  have  a  good 
assortment  of  each  kind." 

The  next  letter  is  from   Charles  Hoff,  is  dated  July 

2  7lh  1777  and  is  directed  to  Governor  Livingston,  beg- 
ging him  to  give  Colonel  John  Munson — who  had  charge 
of  the  militia  for  that  part  of  the  county  and  was  about 
to  levy  a  draft  for  the  army — such  orders  as  would  ex- 
empt his  workmen.  He  speaks  of  a  former  exemption 
given  by  General  Washington,  and  says,  "  We  made  the 
last  year  for  public  service  upwards  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  tons  of  shot  of  different  kinds."  October  7th 
1777  an  act  was  passed  in  the  Legislature  exempting  25 
men  from  draft  at  Hibernia.  March  4th  1778,  Charles 
Hoff  writes  to  Lord  Stirling:  "  The  pig  metal  I  have 
sold,  some  for  ;^i2,  some  for  ;^is,  some  for  ;^2o  and 
some  for  ;^3o  per  ton.  The  stipulated  price  according 
to  the  act  is  ;^2o;  please  inform  me  how  I  must  act  in 
that  case.  The  forges  in  this  part  of  the  country  many 
of  'em  are  turned  from  the  blooming  to  refining,  and  pig 
metal  of  course  in  great  demand.  There  is  also  a  great 
demand  for  hollow  ware  of  all  kinds,  also  salt  pans,  forge 
plates  &c." 


March  2olh  1778  Hoff  wrote  to  Lord  Stirling  in  regard 
to  going  into  blast,  thinking  it  better  to  put  it  off,  owing 
to  the  scarcity  of  men,  coal,  &c. — "Don't  your  lordship 
think,  as  the  blast  is  not  likely  to  continue  so  long  as 
usual,  to  put  off  blooming  till  the  pasture  become  good, 
so  that  the  teams  can  get  their  living  in  the  woods,  with- 
out being  at  the  expense  of  feeding  them  ?"  He  also 
says,  "  If  ye  lordship  could  send  us  some  of  the  regular 
and  Hessian  deserters  that  don't  choose  [to  enlist]  into 
the  continental  service  and  depend  on  working  in  the 
country,  to  amount  to  30  or  40,  I  would  do  my  endeavor 
to  make  'em  serviceable." 

The  next  letter  in  regard  to  the  employment  of  de- 
serters and  Hessians  gives  the  reason  why  quite  a  large 
number  of  Hessians  were  sent  to  Morris  county.  There 
are  descendants  of  these  "  hated  foreign  mercenaries  " 
still  living  in  the  vicinity  of  the  iron  works  to  which  their 
ancestors  were  brought  to  work  a  hundred  years  ago. 

"William  Winds,  Esq.,  Briadier-General. 

"  Being  in  possession  of  .a  furnace  as  manager  thereof, 
commonly  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  the  Hibernia 
Furnace,  helongins  to  the  Right.  Hon.  William  Earl  of 
Stirling,  Major- General  in  the  service  of  X.ht  United  States 
of  America,  situate  in  the  county  of  Morris  and  State  of 
New  Jersey,  which  is  employed  for  the  continent  in  cast- 
ing all  sorts  of  military  stores,  which  we  have  engaged  to 
furnish  with  as  speedily  as  possible,  I  find  it  therefore  es- 
sentialy  necessary  to  employ  a  number  of  workmen  for 
that  purpose;  and,  as  I  am  informed  that  a  good  many 
deserters  both  of  the  British  troops  and  Hessians  are 
come  in  and  sent  to  Philadelphia,  I  have  sent  the  bearer 
— my  brother  John  Hoff — on  purpose  and  given  him  full 
power  hereby  to  engage  as  many  men  as  he  thinks  proper, 
such  as  are  used  to  cut  wood  in  the  winter  season  and 
can  assist  in  the  coaling  business  during  the  summer 
season,  and  a  few  other  tradesmen;  where  they  shall  meet 
with  the  best  encouragement  and  treatment,  provided 
they  make  good  several  enagagements  to  which  they  will 
be  called.  And  whatever  agreements  and  promises  the 
said  John  Hoff  does  make  the  same  shall  be  punctually 
fulfilled  by  me  the  subscriber, 

"  Charles  Hoff  Jun. 

"Hibernia  Iron  Works,  July  ^th  1778." 

In  the  written  instructions  which  were  sent  with  Ber- 
nard Smith,  who  represented  Mr.  Faesch,  and  with  John 
Hoff  it  is  said  that  they  wanted  for  Hibernia  from  fifteen 
to  twenty-five  men  used  to  wood-cutting,  coaling  and 
labor  suitable  for  iron  works,  a  good  blacksmith,  a  good 
wheelwright,  one  or  two  good  carpenters  and  one  or  two 
good  masons,  as  many  as  possible  to  be  Englishmen  or 
those  who  could  speak  that  tongue. 

July  loth  1778  Mr.  Hoff  writes  to  Lord  Stirling  that 
"  Mr.  Taylor  of  Durham  furnace,  in  Pennsylvania,  wrote 
Mr.  Faesch  and  me  he  had  a  complete  set  of  moulds  for 
hollow  ware  to  dispose  of  reasonable.  Mr.  Faesch 
recommended  it  much  to  me  to  buy  'em,  in  partnership 
with  him,  for  the  works.  We  have  done  so  and  brought 
them  from  Pennsylvania;  the  price  was_^20Q,  and  at  this 
time  we  are  sensible  they  would  not  be  made  under 
_^6oo;  there  is  from  a  2-o«nce  grapeshot  to  a  32-lb. 
shot,  moulds  from  i  gall,  pots  to  40  or  50  gallons,  4 
different  stove  moulds  and  moulds  of  every  other  kind." 

In  the  same  letter  he  comolains  that  he  cannot  get 


8 


52 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


supplied  with  flour  and  horse  feed  within  40  or  50  miles, 
and  thinks,  considering  the  public  benefit  of  his  work, 
that  the  quartermaster-general  might  supply  him. 

The  letters  of  the  Hoffs  end  here,  but  it  is  well  known 
that  the  furnace  continued  in  operation  throughout  the 
war  and  manufactured  war  material  for  the  army.  The 
most  notable  event  which  happened  in  this  period  was 
the  robbery  of  the  Hoffs  in  the  spring  of  1781.  A  gang 
of  robbers  entered  the  house  while  the  family  were  at 
supper  and  stole  silver,  jewelry,  linen  and  clothing. 
They  took  horses  also  and  got  away  safely  with  their 
plunder;  but  one  at  least,  James  Babcock,  was  afterward 
taken  and  hung.  The  county  was  infested  with  gangs  of 
tories  and  lawless  men,  and  others  besides  the  Hoffs 
suffered  from  their  visits.  Robert  Ogden,  of  Sparta,  in 
Sussex  county,  was  robbed  in  a  similar  way. 

It  is  supposed  the  same  gang  who  robbed  the  Hoffs 
attempted  to  rob  Colonel  John  Seward,  but  failed.  It  is 
said  that  the  colonel  fortified  himself  in  a  block-house, 
and  that  on  one  cold  night  at  about  midnight  a  man  rode 
up  to  his  door  and  hailed,  desiring  to  see  the  colonel, 
who  instead  of  opening  the  door  caught  up  his  rifle  and 
opened  a  hole  through  which  he  could  look  out.  He 
discovered  a  man  mounted  on  a  fine  horse,  without  a 
saddle  and  with  rope  stirrups.  He  at  once  knew  his 
man,  and,  placing  his  rifle  without  noise  in  the  hole  be- 
tween the  logs,  fired.  Instantly  all  was  still.  The  horse 
being  frightened  left  the  door,  but  was  found  the  next 
morning  eating  at  the  colonel's  haystack,  with  a  dead 
man  fastened  in  his  rope  stirrups  under  his  feet.  The 
horse  proved  to  be  a  stolen  one.  How  many  other  ras- 
cals accompanied  the  one  killed  was  not  known;  but  the 
colonel  was  avoided  by  the  gang  ever  after. 

The  history  of  the  works  at  Hibernia  for  the  twenty 
years  succeeding  the  Revolution  is  involved  in  ob- 
scurity. Lord  Stirling's  affairs  after  his  death  were  found 
to  be  so  much  involved  that  his  property  was  publicly 
sold  by  the  sheriff.  In  1774  he  had  applied  to  the  board 
of  proprietors  for  the  purchase  of  the  large  tract  surround- 
ing his  works  at  Hibernia,  extending  as  far  as  Copperas 
Mountain  and  Greenville  and  known  as  the  Hibernia 
tract.  The  board  had  consented  to  the  sale  and  directed 
a  survey  to  be  made.  April  15th  1785  Mr.  Parker  laid 
before  the  board  a  letter  from  Colonel  Benjamin  Thomp- 
son, which  he  received  on  the  Monday  previous,  inform- 
ing him  that  he  had  purchased  the  Hibernia  iron  works 
of  Messrs.  Murray,  Sanson  &  Co.;  that  he  had  been  in- 
formed that  the  purchase  money  of  3,000  acres  agreed 
for  with  Lord  Stirling  had  never  been  paid,  and  that  he 
was  willing  to  purchase  the  same  agreeably  to  the  original 
contract.  September  13th  1787  a  report  was  made  to 
the  board  that  the  surveys  for  Thompson  were  not  yet 
completed;  but  April  loth  1788  there  was  a  report  of  a 
survey  made  by  Lemuel  Cobb  of  4,365.43  acres,  subject  to 
deductions,  to  be  conveyed  to  Benjamin  Thompson  and 
his  associates  at  ^^20  per  100  acres. 

April  14th  1 791  an  agreement  was  made  by  Mr.  Ruther- 
ford, president  of  the  board,  and  Mr.  Parker  to  sell  to 
John  Murray  and  John  Stotesbury  lands  surveyed  by 


Lemuel  Cobb,  to  accommodate  Hibernia  iron  works  with 
coal  and  wood,  at  £20  per  100  acre^,  with  interest  from 
May  ist  1788.  The  tract  had  been  returned  to  John 
Stevens,  late  president  of  the  board,  in  trust  to  convey  it 
to  Murray  &  Stotesbury,  and  a  deed  had  to  be  made 
from  his  heirs-at-Iaw  to  Mr.  Rutherford,  then  the  presi- 
dent of  the  board,  to  carry  out  the  agreement.  The  re- 
turn included  5,222.44  acres,  but  after  deducting  866.86 
acres  of  prior  locations  included  therein  there  were  left 
4.355-58  acres. 

Prudden  Ailing,  sheriff  of  Morris  county,  on  an  execu- 
tion on  a  judgment  obtained  at  the  April  term  of  1768, 
by  Waddell  Cunningham  and  others  against  Lord  Stirling, 
sold  to  Lemuel  Cobb,  by  deed  dated  February  i6th  1791, 
the  several  tracts  which  made  up  the  Hibernia  tract  for 
;^3o.  It  was  probably  to  complete  the  title  about  to  be 
made  to  Murray  or  Stotesbury. 

William  Jackscn  stated  that  Ross  &  Bird  carried  on 
the  Hibernia  furnace  until  Stotesbury  came  into  posses- 
session  of  it;  but  who  they  were  or  how  long  they  had 
possession  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain.  John  Stotes- 
bury, who  appears  to  have  come  into  possession  in  1791, 
was  of  Irish  descent,  and  is  described  as  a  high  liver,  of 
very  genial  habits  and  popular  in  the  community.  He 
was  an  officer  in  the  continental  army  and  had  a  brother 
in  the  British  army,  on  Lord  Howe's  staff.  He  served 
at  Trenton  and  Princeton,  and  was  wounded  at  Brandy- 
wine.  He  owned  a  pew  in  the  Rockaway  church,  where 
he  attended  with  his  family.  He  had  two  daughters,  one 
of  whom  married  Hon.  Philemon  Dickerson,  of  Paterson. 
Stotesbury  introduced  Irish  employes  at  his  works,  sup- 
planting the  Germans,  who  went  over  to  Mt.  Hope,  ex- 
cepting those  who  found  places  in  the  mountains  beyond. 
George  Shawger,  Charles  Winters,  William  Barton,  Pater 
Sanders  and  Jacob  Bostedo  were  some  of  those  who  re- 
mained on  their  lands,  and  whose  descendants  continue 
to  own  and  reside  on  them.  Mr.  Bostedo  was  a  very 
good  man,  and  was  ordained  by  the  Morris  county  pres- 
bytery to  preach.  Stotesbury  failed  in  1798  and  died 
shortly  afterward. 

The  title  of  the  property  was  made  to  John  Murray 
for  the  large  tract  surrounding  the  Hibernia  property,  by 
Walter  Rutherford,  December  8th  1792,  and  the  several 
lots  on  which  the  furnace  stood  by  William  Shute 
and  his  wife.  May  9th  1796.  After  Murray's  death, 
August  isth  [809,  his  executors  made  an  agreement  to 
convey  thewhole  property  to  Dr.  Charles  M.  Graham,  of 
New  York.  This  gentleman  was  the  ■  owner  of  the 
"Copperas  tract"  near  Green  Pond,  where  Job  Allen 
made  copperas  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  he 
himself  carried  on  the  copperas  manufacture  very  exten- 
sively during  the  war  of  1812.  He  was  of  Scotch  descent, 
a  strong  adherent  of  the  Stuarts  and  a  man  of  great  enter- 
prise. Graham  built  up  the  furnace,  and  then  assigned 
his  agreement  for  a  conveyance  to  Samuel  Thompson, 
Peter  Thompson  and  William  Spencer,  who  received  the 
deed  dated  January  ist  1815  from  Murray's  executors. 
The  men  who  thus  took  possession  of  the  property  were 
described   by  Hubbard  S.   Stickle  as  young  men,  who 


MOUNT  HOPE  FURNACE— JOHN  JACOB  FAESCH. 


53 


undertook  the  business  with  spirit;  but  the  times  were 
against  them  and  they  soon  failed.  The  furnace  went 
down,  and  it  has  never  been  rebuilt.  The  mortgage 
given  to  Graham  was  foreclosed  and  the  property  bought 
by  Benjamin  Rogers  in  1819.  He  sold  off  considerable 
of  the  land  in  lots,  and  May  i8th  1821  conveyed  the 
balance  to  Colonel  William  Scott,  who  built,  a  forge  upon 
the  old  furnace  dam.  A  freshet  swept  the  dam  away 
and  the  forge  was  suffered  to  go  to  decay.  On  the  death 
of  Colonel  Scott,  in  1842,  this  property,  with  a  large 
amount  of  other  real  estate  which  he  had  gathered  to- 
gether in  the  course  of  his  busy  life,  was  divided  among 
his  children.  The  Hibernia  mines  so  divided,  and  which 
included  all  of  the  vein  except  the  lower  mine  (which  be- 
longed to  Benjamin  Beach)  and  the  old  Ford  mine,  have 
since  developed  immense  wealth  and  are  still  among  the 
chief  mines  in  the  county. 

MOUNT    HOPE    FURNACE. 


The  third  furnace   built   within   the  limits   of  Morris 
county  was  at  Mount  Hope,  and  it  was  running  more  or 
less  continuously  for  a  period  of  fifty  years.      When  the 
large    survey  was  made  of   what   is   called   the    Mount 
Hope  tract  in  1772,  of  6,271.06  acres,  there  were   some 
twenty-two  prior  locations  within  its  limits.      The  tract 
began  on  the  mountain  between  Rockaway  and  Dover, 
ran  down  to  near  the  old  Dr.  King  place  in  Rockaway, 
thence  almost  parallel  to  the   Morris  Canal  to  near  the 
westerly  side  of    the  Rockaway  Presbyterian    cemetery, 
thence  to  near  White  Meadow  and  from  there,  with  many 
turns,  to   a   point  between   Denmark  and   Middle  forge; 
thence  down   to  Mount  Pleasant,  and   so  across  by  the 
Baker  &   Richards  mine    to  a  point    on    Mount   Hope 
avenue  in  ihe  easterly  suburbs  of  Dover,  and  so  to  the 
Rockaway  River  near  the  "  point  of  the  mountain,"  and 
thence  back  on  the  Rockaway  Mountain  to  the  place  of 
beginning.    Nearly  all  the  lots  excepted  were  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Rockaway  and    Dover,  and   at   the    Mount 
Hope  mines.     The  earliest  location  near  the  present  vil- 
lage  of    Mount  Hope  was  the  lot  returned  to  Samuel 
Gardiner  in  1749,  at  the  same  time  and  recorded  on  the 
same  page  as  the  Osborn  location  of  Middle  forge.     By 
Gardiner  it  was  sold  to  Abner  Beach,  and   by   him  to 
Jacob  Ford.     It  was  on  the  northwest  side  of  Rockaway 
River,  and  on  a  small  brook  which  runs  into  the  north- 
west corner  of   the  "Hunting    Meadow,"   as   the   great 
meadow  at  Mount  Hope  was  then  called,  and  contained 
26.26  acres.      Probably  after  Jacob  Ford  had  purchased 
this  lot  he  proceeded  to  locate  lands  in  its  neighborhood, 
taking  up   in   1750,   at  the  same  time  he   took   up  the 
Burnt  Meadow  forge   lot,   96.72    acres,  "situate  in  the 
meadow  well  known  as  the  Hunting  Meadow,"  and  26.23 
acres  adjoining  the  Gardiner  lot.     In  1754  he  located  ten 
acres  more  to  the  east  of  the  Gardiner  lot,  in  1757  142 
acres    more,  and  shortly  afterward    58.80   acres  on   the 
road  leading  from  "  David  Beman's  to  what  is  called  the 
Middle  forge,"  and    10.41   acres  "  on  both   sides  of  the 
road  leading  from    David    Beman's  iron    works    to  the 
Burnt  Meadow  forge." 


Colonel  Ford  no  doubt  purchased  the  property  for  its 
mines — which  were  then  well  known  and  which  he  needed 
to  supply  his  forges — and  for  the  meadow,  which  yielded 
abundant  hay  for  his  teams.  In  1768,  February  28th,  he 
conveyed  the  whole  property,  including  the  seven  lots  so 
purchased  or  located  by  him,  to  his  son  Jacob  Ford  jr., 
who  took  up  his  residence  there.  In  1772,  however, 
John  Jacob  Faesch,  having  severed  his  connection  with 
the  London  Company,  came  to  Mount  Hope,  and,  taking 
a  long  lease  of  the  lands  owned  by  Ford,  purchased  from 
the  proprietors  the  great  Mount  Hope  tract  surrounding 
them,  already  mentioned,  and  began  the  building  of  the 
furnace.  He  afterward  purchased  Middle  forge  and 
Rockaway  forge,  leased  Mount  Pleasant  forge  and  the 
Boonton  mills,  and  carried  on  the  iron  business  on  a 
large  scale. 

John  Jacob  Faesch,  who  thus  became  one  of  the  most 
noted   ironmasters  of  the  county,  was  a  man  whose  in- 
fluence was  long  and  widely  felt.     He  was  born  in  the 
canton  of  Basle,  Switzerland,  in  the  year  1729,  and  came 
to  America  in   1764,   under   an   arrangement  made  with 
Francis  Casper  Hasenclever  on  behalf  of  his  brother, 
Peter  Hasenclever,   the  general  manager  and   superin- 
tendent of  the  London  Company,  as  the  manager  of  their 
iron  works.     The   agreement   was   for  seven  years,  and 
Hasenclever   stipulated   to  pay   Faesch's,  his  wife's  and 
servants'  passage  and  deliver  them  and  their  goods  and 
effects  safely  in  America,  with  the  expenses  of  Faesch 
from  New  Wood,  where  he  lived,  to  Remsheid,  where  the 
agreement  was  made;  to  pay  him  2,500  guilders  per  an- 
num Rhenish,  to  begin  on  the  first  day  of  his  journey;  to 
give  him  a  tenantable  dwelling  house,  with  meadow  for 
pasturing  two  or  four  kine;  that  he  might  engage  in  other 
business,  but  not  to  the  prejudice  of  the  company's  inter- 
ests; and  that  he  was  not  to  be  under  command  of  any 
one   except  the  members  of  the  company,  but    should 
have  direction  over  all  the  forges,  mines  and  iron  works 
that  were  erected  or  occupied  or  should  thereafter  be 
undertaken.     In   fact,   it  was  a  very  liberal   agreement 
and  proves  how  valuable  his  services  were  thought  to  be. 
In    accordance  with  this  agreement  Faesch  came  to 
this  county,  and  was  first  placed  by  Hasenclever  at  Ring- 
wood,  where  he  resided  and  acted  as  manager.      In  1768 
the  works  at  Charlotteburgh  were  placed  in  his  charge, 
and  afterward  the  works  at  Long  Pond.     Trouble  arose, 
however,  between  Hasenclever  and  the  other  members  of 
the  company.      He  was  considered  too  extravagant,  and 
in  other  respects  a  bad  manager.      At  all  events  Robert 
Erskine  was  appointed  to  succeed  him,  and  arrived  in 
this  country  June  5th  177 1.      Faesch  resented  the  treat- 
ment of  his  friend  Hasenclever,  and  left  the  service  of 
the  company  in  June  1772,  his  term  of  seven  years  having 
expired.      He  had  already  made  arrangements  to  take 
the  Mount  Hope  property. 

Faesch  is  described  as  a  very  generous  and  large- 
hearted  man,  but  very  aristocratic  in  his  ideas.  He  gave 
liberally  to  the  church,  so  much  so  that  in  a  subscription 
made  in  i78r  a  prominent  man  in  the  Rockaway  congre- 
gation subscribed  "  as  much  as  any  in  the  parish  except 


54 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


Esq.  Faesch."  It  is  said,  however,  that  he  supported 
religion  only  as  a  means  of  keeping  the  lower  classes  in 
subjection.  He  and  one  Jacob  Hertel  were  naturalized 
by  a  special  act  of  the  Legislature,  in  1766.  On  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war  he  was  an  ardent  Whig,  taking 
an  active  part  in  the  politics  of  his  day.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  convention  to  ratify  the  federal  constitution, 
held  December  nth  1787,  and  for  many  years  was  one  of 
the  county  judges.  Mr.  Stickle  described  him  as  of 
medium  stature,  and  said  he  had  often  seen  him  passing 
through  Rockaway,  his  carriage  driven  by  inen  in  livery, 
with  outriders  also  in  livery.  He  always  stopped  at 
Bernard  Smith's,  who  was  a  countryman  and  friend  of 
his.  His  first  wife  was  Elizabeth  Brinckerhoff,  sister  of 
George  Brinckerhoff,  who  was  the  father  of  the  late  Mrs. 
Dr.  Fairchild,  of  Parsippany.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Faesch 
died  February  23d  1788  at  Morristown,  where  Faesch 
had  resided  since  the  war,  in  the  powder  magazine,  which 
he  changed  into  a  house.  The  next  month  after  his 
wife's  death  he  moved  to  Old  Boonton,  where  he  lived 
till  his  death.  His  second  wife  was  Mrs.  Susan  (Kearney) 
Lawrence,  widow  of  a  brother  of  Captain  Lawrence, 
U.  S.  N. 

The  lease  for  Mount  Hope  was  made  by  Colonel 
Jacob  Ford,  "  of  Pequanack,"  of  the  first  part,  and  John 
Jacob  Faesch  and  Daniel  Wrisberg,  of"  the  same  place, 
of  the  second  part;  was  dated  February  23d  1773,  vvas 
to  continue  forty-two  years  from  the  first  day  of  Aprii 
then  last  past  (1772),  and  reserved  an  annual  rent  of 
;^4oo  at  8  shillings  the  ounce.  The  rent  is  indorsed  as 
paid  to  January  nth  1777,  the  date  of  Colonel  Ford's 
death.  In  after  years  Faesch  complained  of  the  rent  a^ 
burdensome  and  that  the  properly  was  not  as- valuable  at 
he  had  supposed.  To  this  remonstrance  Judge  Gabriel 
Ford,  son  of  Colonel  Jacob  Ford,  made  a  written  repl) 
which  fully  sets  forth  the  condition  of  the  property  when 
the  lease  was  made.  He  says:  "There  was  then  a 
meadow  of  100  tons  of  timothy  a  year  and  the  pasturage 
of  the  same  after  it  was  mowed,  60  or  70  acres  of  upland, 
an  orchard  400  best  grafted  trees,  an  elegant  dwelling- 
house,  cost  _^i,40o,  a  fine  pond  of  water,  dams  and 
troughs,  complete,  and  a  good  grist-mill,  rented  for  _;^4o 
per  year;''  that  "Mr,  Faesch  was  not  ignorant  of  a  con- 
stant confluence  of  water  into  it  [the  mine]  while  my 
father  had  it,  inasmuch  as  a  pump  must  be  pretty  con- 
stantly at  Avork  to  leave  the  mines  at  liberty;"  and  while 
Mr.  Faesch  complained  of  spending  ;^i, 200  "in  driving 
on  a  level  to  draw  off  the  water,"  near  ;i£'8oo  of  it  had 
been  deducted  from  his  annual  rent;  that  if  Mr.  Faesch 
"  had  been  as  well  skilled  in  farming  as  in  the  manage- 
ment of  iron  works  the  disasters  (as  he  terms  the  failure 
of  the  hay  crop)  would  not  have  happened  in  so  eminent 
a  degree;"  that  "  in  order  to  accommodate  liim  genteelly 
there  was  erected  upon  the  premises  an  elegant  dwelling- 
house,  which,  cost  upwards  of  _;^i,4oo;"  that  "on  the 
premises  stood  an  exceedingly  good  hemp-mill  and 
grist-mill,  which  together  might  have  cost  ;^8oo — these, 
being  useless  to  Mr.  Faesch,  are  demolished;"  that  "the 
prices  of  iron  have  been  often  double  and  sometimes 


considerably  more  and  so  stands  at  present."  The  reply 
concludes  with  an  offer  to  abate  ;;^ioo  or  ^^125  from 
the  annual  rent. 

Who  Daniel  Wrisberg  was  or  what  became  of  him  is 
not  known.  After  1773  there  is  no  mention  of  him,  and 
the  deed  for  the  large  tract  was  made  to  Faesch  alone. 
There  is  a  tradition  that  he  died  before  the  war  and  left 
;^ioo  to  the  Rockaway  church  provided  he  should  be 
buried  under  the  pulpit,  which  was  done.  There  is  no 
record,  however,  confirming  the  story. 

The  furnace  was  built  in  1772,  under  the  eye  of  its 
experienced  owner,  and  was  in  good  wo)king  order  when 
the  Revolutionary  war  broke  out.  We  have  not  a  letter 
book  giving  the  details  of  its  operations,  but  from  the 
frequent  reference  to  Mr.  Faesch  in  Hoff's  letters  fiom 
Hibernia,  as  well  as  from  other  sources,  it  is  certain  that 
large  quantities  of  cannon,  shot  and  iron  utensils  were 
manufactured  there  and  that  more  men  were  employed 
than  at  Hibernia. 

The  tories  made  many  attempts  to  rob  the  house  of 
Faesch  at  Mount  Hope  and  to  destroy  his  property;  but 
after  the  battle  of  Trenton  and  the  capture  of  the  Hes- 
sians, it  is  said,  he  made  an  arrangement  with  General 
Washington  to  keep  thirty  of  the  prisoners  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  These  he  kept  employed  in  chopping  wood, 
etc.,  keeping  trusty  men  about  him  who  were  furnished 
with  30  stand  of  arms  by  the  government,  which  were 
always  kept  in  perfect  order.  These  secured  him  from 
molestation.  In  the  "instructions"  to  Bernard  Smith 
on  the  part  of  Faesch  and  to  John  Hoff  on  the  part  of 
his  brother,  already  spoken  of,  when  they  were  sent  to 
engage  these  prisoners,  25  or  30  men  were  asked  for  for 
.Mount  Hope,  "such  as  are  used  to  wood  cutting,  coaling 
and  labor  suitable  for  iron  works,  two  good  carpenters,  one 
wheelwright,  two  blacksmiths,  two  masons;  if  you  can  meet 
with  a  young  man  or  boy  that  can  shave,  dress  hair, 
wait  on  table,  take  care  of  horses,  etc.,  get  him,  if  possi- 
ble an  Englishman  or  one  that  talks  both  languages." 
"  If  any  or  all  of  'em  has  guns  advise  them  to  bring  them 
along;  they'll  be  allowed  a  generous' price  here  for  'em, 
and  also  all  accoutrements  in  the  military  way."  "It 
would  also  be  advisable  for  you  to  inquire  for  Captain 
Debauk  and  the  rest  of  the  gentlemen  that  were  prison- 
ers at  Mount  Hope,  as  they'll  be  of  infinite  service  to 
you."  "  Mr.  Faesch  wants  a  good  beer-brewer  and  dis- 
tiller, that  is  a  genteel,  sober,  honest  and  industrious 
man — if  possible  an  Englishman — as  he  has  good  con- 
veniences for  that  business;  he  is  willing  if  he  can  get  a 
man  he  can  confide  in  to  take  him  into  partnership." 

October  7th  1777  an  act  was  passed  exempting  fifty 
men  at  Mount  Hope  and  twenty-five  at  Hibernia  from 
military  duty.  In  the  preamble  it  is  stated  "  that  it  is 
highly  expedient  that  the  army  and  navy  should  be  fur- 
nished as  speedily  as  possible  with  cannon,  cannon  shot, 
refined  bar  iron,  shovels,  axes  and  other  implements  of 
iron,  which  the  furnaces  at  Mount  Hope  and  Hibernia, 
with  the  forges  at  Brookland,  Mount  Pleasant,  Longwood 
and  Middle  forge,  so  called  from  their  local  situation  and 
other  circumstances,  are  well  adapted  to  supply;    and 


LATE  MANAGERS  OF  MOUNT  HOPE. 


55 


whereas  John  Jacob  Faesch,  Esq.,  the  proprietor  and  con- 
ductor of  Mount  Hope  iron  works,  and  Charles  Hoff  jun., 
superintendent  of  the  Hibernia  furnace,  by  their  memorial 
have  set  forth  that  the  said  works  have  been  for  some 
time  past  employed  in  providing  the  aforesaid  articles  for 
public  use,"  the  act  provides  that  Faesch  might  enroll 
any  number  of  men  less  than  fifty  to  be  employed  in  the 
iron  works  at  Mount  Hope,  Brookland,  Longwood, 
Mount  Pleasant  and  Middle  forge;  and  that  Hoff  might 
enroll  twenty-five  men  to  be  employed  at  Hibernia  fur- 
nace. These  men  were  to  be  fully  armed,  equipped  and 
disciplined  by  Faesch  and  Hoff,  but  were  not  to  be 
obliged  to  attend  musters  or  to  leave  the  works  unless 
the  county  should  be  invadrd.  This  act  was  repealed  in 
1779 — probably  after  the  Hessians  had  been  introduced. 
After  Faesch  removed  to  Morristown,  and  no  longer 
personally  superintended  his  furnace,  etc.,  his  business 
became  less  profitable  and  finally  brought  him  in  debt. 

William  Jackson  stated  as  a  fact  of  his  personal  knowl- 
edge— and  we  use  his  own  language — that  while  Faesch 
was  still  carrying  on  Mount  Hope,  and  Stotesbury 
Hibernia,  Chilion  Ford  kept  a  store  in  Rockaway  in  the 
house  south  of  the  main  street  and  near  the  Hibernia 
railroad,  and  on  him  orders  were  drawn  by  each  company 
to  its  workmen,  who  came  down  each  Saturday  to  draw 
their  supplies  for  a  week  at  a  time.  Every  man  appeared 
with  his  jug,  and  the  first  thing  was  a  half  gallon  of 
rum  to  each  man,  and  the  balance  of  their  orders  in 
the  necessaries  of  life.  After  their  sacks  were  filled  a 
general  treating  took  place,  after  which  they  moved  off 
over  the  bridge  on  their  way  home.  When  they  crossed 
the  race  bridge  and  arrived  at  their  parting  point  another 
big  drink  must  be  had  all  round,  by  which  time  "  the 
critter  "  began  to  work,  and  then  the  national  elements 
(Dutch  and  Irish,  with  a  mixture  of  American  by  way  of 
variety)  brought  on  a  general  fight,  which  lasted  a  short 
time,  when  the  hatchet  was  buried  and  all  united  in 
another  drink  and  left — each  on  his  winding  way,  the 
women  and  boys  bringing  up  the  rear. 

July  28th  1788 -Sheriff  Arnold  conveyed  to  Gabriel 
Ford,  after  a  sale  made  under  a  judgment  recovered  by 
the  executors  of  Jacob  Ford  sen.  against  the  executors 
of  Jacob  Ford  jr.,  deceased,  the  seven  tracts  of  land 
"  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  Mount  Hope,  in  the 
possession  of  John  Jacob  Faesch,  Esq.,  as  tenant  there- 
of," and  May  loth  1793  Judge  Ford  conveyed  the  whole 
to  Faesch,  so  ending  the  lease.  Faesch  died  May  29th 
1799,  and  is  buried  at  Morristown  by  the  side  of  his  wife 
and  his  two  sons,  John  Jacob  jr.,  who  died  in  1809,  and 
Richard  B.,  who  died  in  1820.  The  two  sons  and  one 
daughter  died  single.  Besides  these  Mr.  Faesch  left  one 
daughter,  who  married  William  H.  Robinson  of  New 
York,  and  who  died  leaving  two  daughters,  one  of  whom 
married  Robert  J.  Girard. 

After  Faesch's  death  his  two  sons  continued  to  carry 
on  the  business;  but  the  creditors  of  their  father  became 
dissatisfied  and  filed  a  bill  in  chancery  February  21st 
1801  to  compel  a  sale  of  the  lands  of  Faesch  in  satisfac- 
tion of  their  claims.     A  list  of  the  property  alleged  to 


have  belonged  to  him  at  his  death  includes  the  Mount 
Hope  and  Middle  forge  tracts  (containing  together  7,600 
acres),  the  Rockaway  forge,  the  Jackson  or  Jacobs  mine, 
a  mine  at  Long  Pond,  a  share  in  the  Morris  Academy 
and  several  small  lots.  His  Mount  Hope  lands  included 
the  Richards,  Allen  and  Teabo  mines,  none  of  which 
except  perhaps  the  Richards  were  then  developed.  The 
result  of  this  suit  was  the  appointment  of  General  John 
Doughty,  of  Morristown,  a  special  commissioner  to  sell 
these  lands.  He  was  engaged  for  several  years  in  divid- 
ing them  up  and  disposing  of  them.  The  homestead  at 
Mt.  Hope,  with  831  acres  around  it,  including  the  mines, 
meadow  and  furnace,  was  sold  September  25th  1809  for 
$7,655  to  Moses  Phillips  jr.,  of  Orange  county,  New 
York.  The  land  so  conveyed  is  what  is  generally  known 
now  as  the  Mount  Hope  tract.  Then  or  soon  after 
Moses  Phillips  became  the  owner  of  Hickory  Hill  tract, 
Middle  forge  tract,  the  Bartow  tract,  which  lies  south  of 
Middle  forge,  and  other  lands,  making  up  about  2,600 
acres.  He  did  not  reside  at  Mount  Hope  himself,  but 
sent  his  sons  Henry  W.  Phillips  and  Lewis  Phillips  to 
manage  the  property — giving  them  an  agreement  of 
purchase. 

In  18:4  the  property  was  leased  to  a  company  consist- 
ing of  Robert  McQueen,  Abraham  Kinney  and  Eliphalet 
Sturtevant  and  known  as  McQueen  &  Co.  They  re- 
paired the  old  stack  after  it  had  lain  idle  for  fifteen  years, 
and  did  a  thriving  business,  making  pig  iron  and  all  kinds 
of  hollow  ware.  Kinney  and  Sturtevant  were  not  in  the 
concern  long  and  their  place  was  taken  by  Colonel 
Thomas  Muir,  a  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  McQueen.  The 
first  lease  lasted  seven  years,  and  it  was  renewed  for  five. 
Alexander.  Norris,  who  then  lived  close  by,  fixes  the  date 
of  the  beginning  of  the  lease  by  the  fact  that  when  peace 
was  declared  in  1815  they  had  a  flag  hoisted  in  the  top 
of  the  furnace,  which  had  not  yet  been  started.  Mr. 
Norris  says  the  last  blast  was  made  in  the  fall  of  1827, 
after  which  the  furnace  was  permitted  to  lie  idle,  and 
finally  to  go  down.  While  operating  Mount  Hope 
Colonel  Muir  purchased  the  White  Meadow  tract  and 
made  it  his  residence.  He  continued  to  reside  there 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  September  28th  1855. 

November  29th  1831,  by  act  of  Legislature,  the  Mount 
Hope  Mining  Company  was  incorporated,  the  incorpor 
ators  being  Samuel  Richards,  Moses  Phillips,  Samuel  G. 
Wright  and  Thomas  S.  Richards.  The  capital  stock 
was  fixed  at  $60,000.  In  April  previous  Moses  Phillips 
had  conveyed  to  Samuel  Richards  and  Samuel  G.  Wright 
a  two-thirds  interest  in  the  tract  of  831  acres,  and  two- 
thirds  of  all  the  minerals  in  the  adjoining  lands,  owned 
by  him  at  the  time.  After  the  incorporation  of  the  com- 
pany all  three  of  the  owners  conveyed  to  the  company, 
which  has  ever  since  been  the  owner.  The  stock  has 
changed  hands,  but  no  transfers  have  been  made  by 
ordinary  deeds  of  conveyance.  By  supplements  to  its 
charter  the  company  was  allowed  to  build  a  railroad  to 
Rockaway  (which  was  done),  to  construct  furnaces,  mills, 
etc.,  and  to  increase  its  capital  stock  to  $300,000.  This 
is  no  longer  a  manufacturing  property,  but  is  one  of  the 


56 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


most  extensive  and  productive  mineral  properties  in  the 
State.  Edward  R.  Biddle  became  the  owner  of  the  stock 
several  years  after  the  formation  of  the  company,  and  by 
him  it  was  sold  to  Moses  Taylor  and  his  associates  about 
the  year  1855,  for  $80,000,  which  was  considered  a 
marvelous  price  at  the  time. 

SPLIT    ROCK    FURNACE. 

The  only  other  charcoal  furnace  within  the  bounds  of 
Morris  county  was  built  at  Split  Rock  by  the  late  Hon. 
Andrew  B.  Cobb,  of  Parsippany,  about  1862.  Mr.  Cobb 
was  a  son  of  Colonel  Lemuel  Cobb,  the  well  known  sur- 
veyor of  the  board  of  proprietors,  and  both  by  inherit- 
ance and  purchase  became  the  owner  of  large  tracts  of 
land  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  much  of  it 
covered  with  wood.  He  was  also  the  owner  of. the  Split 
Rock  mine.  To  make  his  wood  and  ore  available  he  built 
the  furnace  near  his  forge.  It  made  but  a  few  tons  of 
iron,  however,  before  it  went  out  of  blast,  and  has  since 
been  idle.  It  was  found  unprofitable  in  this  day  of  an- 
thracite furnaces. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


SLITTING    AND    ROLLING    MILLS — ANTHRACITE    FURNACES 
AND    FOUNDRIES. 


HE  act  of  Parliament  passed  in  1749,  already 
alluded  to,  was  intended  to  prevent  the  con- 
struction of  any  slitting  or  rolling  mills  in  the 
province,  and  continued  in  force  until  the 
time  of  the  Revolution.  Every  mill  built 
while  this  law  was  in  force  had  to  be  built  covertly. 
In  spite  of  the  law,  however,  a  slitting-mill  was 
erected  at  Old  Boonton,  by  David  Ogden  or  his  son 
Samuel  Ogden,  about  the  year  1770.  In  a  deed  given 
for  it  in  1805  the  "  slitting-mill  lot "  was  said  to  have 
been  conveyed  to  Samuel  Ogden  by  Thomas  Peer  by 
deed  dated  August  6th  1770,  and  this  was  probably  the 
date  of  its  erection.  The  Ogdens  had  by  this  time  sold 
out  their  Ringwood  property  to  the  London  Company 
and  turned  their  attention  to  Morris  county. 

For  the  purpose  of  concealment  the  mill  built  by  the 
Ogdens  was  so  constructed  that  the  upper  part  was  a 
grist-mill,  while  the  slitting  works  were  underneath.  It 
stood  on  the  east  side  of  the  river;  and  the  shape  of  the 
ground,  which  rose  abruptly  from  near  the  river's  edge, 
made  the  erection  of  such  a  building  very  feasible.  The 
entrance  to  the  mill  was  from  the  hillside,  and  in  the 
room  thus  entered  was  the  run  of  stones  for  grinding 
grain;  and  it  was  so  arranged  that  the  room  below  could 
be  closed  up  entirely,  and  upon  little  warning,  so  as  to 
give  no  sign  of  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  used.  An 
Enghshman  named  Campsen,  one  of  the  ancestors  of  the 
Righter  family  at  Parsippany,  was  the  architect.  It  is 
said  that  Governor  William  Franklin  visited  this  place, 


having  been  informed  that  one  of  the  prohibited  mills  was 
being  carried  on  here  by  stealth.  Colonel  Ogden  received 
the  governor  and  his  suite  with  great  hospitality,  and  iri- 
sisted  on  their  dining  immediately  on  their  arrival.  This 
the  governor's  party  were  not  unwilling  to  do,  as  they 
had  made  a  long  and  fatiguing  journey.  At  the  table, 
which  was  lavishly  spread,  choice  liquors  circulated 
freely;  and  the  governor  was  not  only  unable  to  find  any 
"  slitting-mill "  in  Boonton,  but  indignant  at  the  "  un- 
founded slander."  It  was  reported  that  Franklin  had  an 
interest  in  it  himself,  which  might  account  for  his  not 
seeing  too  much. 

The  mill  was  probably  a  small  affair.     At  its  best  it 
was  only  an  apology  for  an  iron-mill,  as  they  could  only 
roll  out  bars  of  iron  or  slit  them  from  the  sizes  drawn 
by  the  forgemen.     Their  heating  furnace  was   designed 
to  use  dry  wood,  so  that  nothing  better  than  a  red  heat 
could  be  produced,  "leaving  the  rods  or  hoops  when 
rolled  or  slit  about  as  red  as  a  fox,"  as  one  said  who  had 
seen   the  mill  in   operation.     It  was  carried  on  by  the 
Ogdens    in   connection  with  a  forge   and  other  works 
through  the  war  and  until  1784.    In  1778  Samuel  Ogden 
advertises  in  the  New  Jersey  Gazette  rod  and  sheet  iron 
for  sale  at  Boonton.     It  seems  that  Samuel  Ogden  was 
the  principal  owner,  as  his  name  most  frequently  occurs 
in  connection  with  it;  but  Isaac   Ogden  and   Nicholas 
Hoffman  each  owned  a  sixth  interest,  which  was  bought 
May  I  St  1784  by  Samuel  Ogden   from  Abraham  Kitchel, 
agent  for  Morris  county,  on  inquisition  found  January 
ist  1777  against  Isaac  Ogden,  and  September  21st  1777 
against   Hoffman,  they  having  joined   the   army  of  the 
king.     Kitchel  conveys  as  the  property  of  each  of  these 
loyalists  one-sixth  of  the  slitting-mill,  rolling-mill,  coal- 
houses,  dwelling-houses,  raceways,  dams,  etc.,  and  speaks 
of  a  forge — the  property  of  Samuel  Ogden.     The  same 
year,    1784,   March    ist,   Samuel  Ogden  of    New  York, 
merchant,  leases  to  John  Jacob  Faesch,  of  Mount  Hope, 
the  moiety  of  several  tracts  at  Boonton  for  twenty-one 
years,   under  an   arrangement  that  they  should  jointly 
erect  a  "  four-fire  forge  and  forge  hammers  with  a  trip 
hammer  at  the  place  wheire  the  old  forge,  which  is  now 
pulled  down,  at  Boonton  aforesaid,  formerly  stood,"  the  • 
management  of  the  forge  and  also  of  the  grist-mill  to  be 
joint.     The  rent  reserved  was  _;^5o  New  York  currency 
in  silver  or  gold,  reckoning  Spanish  milled  dollars  at  8 
shillings  each  and  English  guineas  at  37  shillings  and  4 
pence  each.     Wood  was  to  be  furnished  for  the  supply 
of  "  said  forge,  and  other  iron  manufactories  to  be  car- 
ried on  at  Boonton  by  the  parties,"  off  the  premises  of 
said  Ogden  at  nine  pence  per  cord. 

October  8th  1805,  on  the  expiration  of  this  lease, 
Samuel  Ogden  and  Euphemia  his  wife,  of  Newark,  con- 
veyed to  John  Jacob  Faesch  and  Richard  B.  Faesch,  the 
sons  of  John  Jacob  Faesch  sen.,  who  had  died  in  1799, 
the  whole  property  at  Boonton.  They  carried  on  the 
business  but  a  short  time,  and  the  works,  with  the  excep- 
lion  of  the  forge,  which  continued  to  be  operated  by  John 
Righter,  then  its  owner,  until  a  comparatively  recent  date, 
were  suffered  to  fall  into  disuse. 


SPEEDWELL  AND  DOVER  IRON  MILLS, 


57 


Thomas  C.  Willis,  of  Powerville,  whose  father  was 
superintendent  of  the  heating  furnace  at  Old  Boonton  in 
1800,  and  who  was  himself  born  there,  said  that  in  his 
childhood  there  were  at  Old  Boonton,  on  the  easterly 
bank  of  the  river,  a  rolling-mill,  a  slitting-mill  and 
a  saw-mill.  The  iron  used  in  these  mills  was  taken 
from  the  healing  furnaces,  rolled  and  slitted  on  a 
single  heat.  On  the  westerly  bank  of  the  river,  near  the 
bend,  were  a  large  potash  factory,  a  nail-cutting  factory, 
a  grist-mill  and  a  blacksmith  shop.  On  the  same  side, 
opposite  the  slitting-mill,  stood  a  large  bloomary,  con- 
taining four  fires  and  two  trip  hammers.  A  large  build- 
ing containing  eight  refining  furnaces  stood  upon  the  spot 
where  the  forge  afterward  stood. 

Another  gentleman,  whose  memory  reaches  back 
almost  as  far,  says  that  there  were  three  dams  across  the 
river  below  the  present  road  and  one  above. 

SPEEDWELL. 

The  second  slitting-mill  in  the  county  was  built  at 
Speedwell,  by  Jacob  Arnold  and  John  Kinney,  about  the 
time  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  It  is  impossible  to  fix 
the  date  more  exactly.  .In  the  New  Jersey  Gazette,  pub- 
lished in  1778,  is  notice  of  Arnold,  Kinney  &  Co.  opening 
a  store  in  Morristown,  "  next  door  to  Colonel  Henry 
Remsen's,"  showing  the  partnership  to  have  existed  at 
that  date.  Both  men  had  been  and  were  prominent  in 
the  county.  Arnold  kept  the  hotel  in  Morristown  where, 
in  January  1777,  Washington  took  up  his  winter  quarters, 
and  which  is  still  standing,  on  the  northwest  side  of  the 
public  square.  He  commanded,  as  has  been  stated,  the 
troop  of  horse  known  as  "Arnold's  light  horse,"  a  detach- 
ment of  which  did  duty  as  guard  for  Governor  Livingston. 
Kinney  had  been  sheriff  of  the  county,  and  had  had  some 
experience  in  the  iron  business.  The  venture  was  a  per- 
fect failure.  It  is  said  that  after  the  whole  had  been  con- 
structed, through  some  defect  which  they  could  not 
remedy,  the  machinery  entirely  failed  to  do  its  work. 
The  debts  contracted  in  its  erection  pressed  the  partners 
and  the  property  was  sold.  Enoch  Beach,  as  coroner 
(Arnold  being  sheriff)  sold  the  interest  of  Jacob  Arnold 
January  nth  1796  to  Dr.  Timothy  Johnes,  who  sold  to 
Stephen  Vail  in  1807.  The  interest  of  Kinney  had  also 
been  sold,  and  a  deed  from  James  C.  Canfield  and  wife  to 
Stephen  Vail  in  1814  for  this  half  speaks  of  all  the  new 
buildings  which  Stephen  Vail,  William  Campfield  and 
Isaac  Canfield  have  erected  since  the  deed  to  Vail  in 
1807,  viz.:  trip-hammer  works,  blacksmith  shop,  coal 
house,  turning  shop,  etc.  From  the  ruin  of  a  second 
partnership  Stephen  Vail  came  out  the  owner  of  the  whole 
property  at  Speedwell,  and  under  his  management  it  be- 
came an  important  manufactory.  The  work  done  here 
has  been  mostly  for  the  southern  and  South  American 
trade,  in  the  shape  of  sugar-mills,  coffee  hullers,  etc.  It 
if  said  the  boiler  of  the  first  ocean  steamer  that  crossed 
the  Atlantic  was  forged  here  and  the  first  cast-iron  plow 
made  in  America  was  made  here.  In  1853  the  Speedwell 
iron  works  were  being  carried  on  by  Hon.  George  Vail, 
son  of  Judge  Stephen  Vail,  and  Isaac  A.  Canfield,  grand- 


son of  the  judge,  and  were  visited  by  Dr.  Tuttle,  who 
wrote  a  description  of  them  for  the  New  York  Tribune. 

At  that  time  there  was  made  at  the  works  a  great 
variety  of  articles — press  screws,  car  wheels  and  axles, 
mill  machinery,  etc.  Six  moulders  were  employed  in  the 
foundry,  eight  men  in  the  blacksmith  shop,  ten  in  the 
machine  shops,  and  these  with  other  laborers  made  up  an 
aggregate  of  forty-five,  whose  wages  would  amount  to 
some  $14,400  per  annum.  The  works  used  then  annually 
200  tons  of  anthracite  coal,  100  tons  of  bituminous  coal, 
ICO  tons  of  Scotch  pig  and  100  tons  of  American  pig,  95 
tons  wrought  iron,  1,400  pounds  of  cast  steel  and  1,000 
pounds  of  brass,  copper,  etc.  The  annual  product  was 
estimated  at  $50,000.  Judge  Vail  died  in  1864,  leaving 
these  works  to  his  executors  in  such  a  manner  that  they 
cannot  be  sold  and  can  only  be  operated  by  certain  per- 
sons who  are  named.  For  this  or  for  some  other  reason 
they  have  lain  idle  for  several  years. 

DOVER   MILL. 

The  third  slitting  or  rolling-mill  erected  in  the  county 
was  at  Dover.  In  1792  Israel  Canfield  and  Jacob  Losey, 
forming  the  well-known  firm  of  Canfield  &  Losey,  bought 
from  Josiah  Beman  his  forge,  etc.  Soon  afterward  they 
built  the  dam  where  it  is  now,  and  erected  the  forge 
which  was  standing  until  within  a  few  years,  when  the 
building  was  transferred  to  other  use.  They  built  also 
a  rolling  and  slitting-mill  after  the  model  of  the  Old 
Boonton  mill,  and  heated  their  iron  with  wood  in  the 
same  way.  Soon  after  the  erection  of  their  rolling-mill 
they  built  a  factory  for  cutting  nails,  the  heading  of 
which  was  done  in  dies  by  hand.  Besides  the  property 
in  Dover  they  purchased  and  leased  large  quantities  of 
land,  mines  and  forges,  and  carried  on  the  iron  business 
on  what  was  then  considered  a  grand  scale.  It  must  be 
remarked,  however,  that  while  business  flourished  in 
Dover  the  place  was  notorious  for  its  infidelity  and  con- 
sequent wickedness.  Many  of  its  prominent  citizens 
were  open  adherents  of  Tom  Paine,  and  they  gloried  in 
disseminating  his  sentiments  among  all  classes. 

In  1817  the  firm  of  Canfield  &  Losey  failed,  and 
Blackwell  &  McFarlan,  iron  merchants  of  New  York, 
who  were  creditors  of  the  concern,  purchased  the  whole 
property.  With  the  iron  works  passed  also  nearly  the 
whole  site  of  Dover,  the  Longwood  forge  and  tract,  and 
the  mines  which  the  old  firm  had  developed.  The  village 
of  Dover  was  laid  out  by  Messrs.  Blackwell  &  McFarlan 
as  it  is  at  present — on  either  side  of  the  straight,  wide 
street  called  Blackwell  street,  with  other  streets,  named 
after  the  counties,  crossing  it  at  right  angles.  From  an 
advertisement  of  the  company  in  a  newspaper  published 
in  1827  it  appears  that  the  iron  works,  then  in  full  opera- 
tion, consisted  of  three  rolling-mills  and  two  chain  cable 
shops.  Jacob  Losey  was  the  resident  agent  of  the  confi- 
ipany,  the  members  of  which  still  lived  in  New  York. 

To  the  firm  of  Blackwell  &  McFarlan  succeeded  as 
owner  of  the  Dover  property  Henry  McFarlan,  son  of 
Henry  McFarlan  sen.,  one  of  the  members  of  the  old 
firm.     Dr.  Tuttle  visited  the  works  in   1853,  and  gives  us 


S8 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


this  statement  of  the  business  done  for  the  year  ending 
April  J  St  of  that  year:  Octagon  bars  rolled  into  rivet  rods 
|4  to  ^  inch;  round  and  various  sizes  of  merchant  iron, 
392^  tons;  boiler  rivets  made  from  the  above,  735,746 
pounds,  a  little  more  than  328  tons;  anthracite  coal  con- 
sumed, 1,000  tons.  The  octagon  iron  was  worth  $55  per 
ton,  making  the  raw  material  used  worth  $21,287.  The 
coal  cost  about  $4,300.'  The  amount  of  wages  paid  was 
about  $11,000,  among  twenty-five  hands,  and  the  product 
of  the  whole  work  was  valued  at  $50,000. 

In  addition  to  the  rolling-mill  and  rivet  factory  Mr. 
McFarlan  had  furnaces  for  converting  Swedes  and  English 
iron  into  steel.  The  following  is  the  list  for  the  year 
above  specified:  Converted  and  rolled  into  spring  steel 
from  Swedes  and  English  iron,  1,000  tons;  toe  cork  or 
shoeing  steel.  32^  tons;  American  bar  steel,  16  tons. 

The  superintendent  of  the  works,  who  furnished  to  Dr. 
Tutlle  this  information,  was  Guy  M.  Hinchman.  He  was 
born  in  Elmira,  N.  Y.,  November  29th  1795.  I"  1810  he 
removed  to  Morris  county,  taking  up  his  residence  at 
Succasunna.  When  only  23  years  of  age  he  was  the 
owner  and  operator  of  the  Mount  Pleasant  mine.  From 
1823  to  1834  he  was  engaged  in  business  in  New  York, 
after  which  he  returned  to  Dover,  where  he  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  acting  as  superintendent  of  the  iron 
works  until  1869,  when  Mr.  McFarlan  ceased  to  operate 
them.  He  was  a  man  of  great  activity,  a  kind-hearted, 
courtly  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  yet  keeping  pace 
with  and  aiding  in  all  social  and  public  improvements. 
He  died  February  13th  1879,  retaining  all  his  faculties 
until  the  last. 

Henry  McFarlan  drove  the  mill  from  1830,  when  his 
father  died,  to  1869.  He  leased  the  property  in  1875  to 
Wynkoop  &  O'Conner,  who  ran  it  only  a  short  time, 
claiming  that  the  raising  of  a  dam  below  the  mill  by  the 
Morris  Canal  Company  had  so  far  affected  the  power  of 
the  mill  as  to  render  it  comparatively  useless.  This 
question  is  now  and  has  been  for  several  years  in  the 
courts.  In  1880  Mr.  McFarlan  sold  the  mills,  and  they 
are  now  operated  by  the  Dover  Iron  Company,  who  have 
put  in  steam  engines  and  are  driving  the  works  with 
vigor.  Hon.  George  Richards  is  the  president  of  the 
company,  and  under  his  efificient  management  ihe  works 
give  employment  to  a  large  number  of  operatives  and 
turn  out  large  quantities  of  fish  plates  and  other  railroad 
material. 

ROCKAWAY   ROLLING-MILL. 

January  26th  1822  Colonel  Joseph  Jackson  and  his 
brother  William  entered  into  an  agreement  to  build  a 
rolling-mill  on  the  colonel's  land  in  Rockaway,  to  be 
driven  by  water  from  an  extension  of  the  lower  forge 
dam.  This  agreement  was  to  continue  for  twenty-one 
years,  when  the  colonel  was  to  have  the  mill  at  its  ap- 
praised value.  The  brothers  had  previously  rented  a 
mill  in  Paterson,  and  William  Jackson  made  the  following 
memorandum: 

"  The  first  bar  of  round  and  square  iron  ever  rolled  in 
this  county  was  done  by  Colonel  Joseph  Jackson  and  my- 


self, in  the  old  rolling-mill  at  Paterson,  then  owned  by 
Samuel  and  Rosweli  Colt,  in  the  year  1820,  under  our  con- 
tract to  furnish  the  United  States  government  with  a  cer- 
tain quantity  of  rolled  round  and  hammered  iron  at  the 
navy  yard  at  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  in  which  we  succeeded  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  the  government.  Our  experiments 
at  rolling  round  and  square  iron  induced  us  to  build  the 
rolling-mill  at  Rockaway  in  1821  and  1822.  Messrs. 
•Blackwell  &  McFarlan,  owners  of  the  Dover  rolling-mill 
and  forge,  seeing  our  success,  proceeded  to  alter  and  re- 
build their  rolling-mill  for  rolling  all  kinds  of  iron,  which 
they  completed  about  the  same  time.  We  finished  our 
rolling-mill  in  November  1822." 

In  1826  William  sold  out  to  his  brother  his  interest 
and  commenced  the  erection  of  the  forge,  furnace,  etc., 
at  Clinton.  Left  the  sole  owner  of  the  mill  Colonel 
Jackson  proceeded  to  extend  his  operations,  and  devel- 
oped a  large  iron  business.  He  was  already  or  soon  after 
became  the  owner  of  the  two  forges  with  five  fires  at 
Rockaway,  and  of  the  Swedes,  Teabo  and  Jackson  mines. 
In>  1830  he  built  a  second  mill  upon  the  same  dam.  He 
expended  money  liberally  but  with  judgment  in  new 
machinery,  and  in  experiments  to  test  the  qualities  of  the 
various  ores  and  the  best  methods  of  working  them.  His 
works  were  a  market  for  the  various  forges  in  the  county, 
and  the  finished  product  was  mostly  carted  to  tide  water 
by  his  teams,  which  returned  with  supplies.  The  Morris 
Canal,  during  the  boating  season,  brought  anthracite  coal 
from  the  Lehigh  Valley;  but  so  long  as  he  continued  his 
business  his  teams  were  on  the  road  between  Rockaway 
and  Newark.  He  built  a  steel  furnace  near  the  canal,  in 
which  blistered  steel  was  made  from  the  iron  bars.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  enterprise  and  determination,  and 
continued  to  carry  on  his  mill  through  the  various  vicissi- 
tudes of  the  iron  business  until  1852,  when  he  sold  the 
mill,  lower  forge  and  steel  furnace  properties  to  Freeman 
Wood. 

Mr.  Wood  proceeded  to  enlarge  the  mill,  putting  in 
steam  engines,  etc.  February  12th  1855  the  Rockaway 
Manufacturing  Company  was  organized,  its  incorporators 
being  Freeman  Wood,  George  Hand  Smith,  Lyman  A. 
Chandler,  Theodore  T.  Wood  and  Nathaniel  Mott.  The 
property  was  transferred  to  it  August  14th  the  same  year. 
This  company  made  a  bad  failure  a  few  years  after,  and 
the  Morris  County  Bank,  one  of  the  principal  creditors, 
became  the  real  owner  of  the  mills  as  mortgagee.  By 
the  bank  the  property  was  rented  to  James  Horner,  who 
manufactured  steel  there  until  just  after  the  war,  when 
he  removed  his  business  to  Pompton.  November  3d 
1862  Theodore  Little,  as  master  in  chancery,  conveyed 
the  property  to  John  H.  Allen,  who,  February  27th  fol- 
lowing, conveyed  it  to  Thomas  E.  Allen  and  Israel  D. 
Condit.  They  ran  it  a  couple  of  years,  when  Mr.  Allen 
conveyed  his  half  to  his  partner,  Mr.  Condit.  Mr. 
Condit  has  been  tlie  owner  ever  since,  with  the  exception 
of  two  or  three  years,  when  it  vvas  owned  by  Adoniram 
B.  Judson,  the  deed  to  him  being  dated  January  19th 
1867  and  the  deed  back  to  Mr.  Condit,  which  was  made 
by  the  sheriff,  being  dated  February  13th  187 1.  Mr. 
Judson  operated  the  works  under  the  name  of  the  Jud- 
son Steel  and  Iron  Works,  himself,  James  L.  Baldwin 


POWERVILLE  AND  BOONTON  IRON  WORKS. 


59 


and  George  Neimus  being  the  incorporators.  The  in- 
corporation act  was  approved  February  26th  1868.  The 
concern  is  now  being  operated  by  the  American  Swedes 
Iron  Company,  organized  in  August  1881,  which  is  using 
Wilson's  process  for  the  manufacture  of  wrought  iron 
directly  from  the  ore,  which  is  obtained  from  Block 
Island.  The  history  of  the  works  for  the  last  eighteen 
years  has  been  that  of  unsuccessful  experiment  for  the 
most  part — many  new  processes  for  making  iron  and 
steel  having  been  attempted  without  profitable  results. 
C.  T.  Raynolds,  H.  R.  Raynolds  and  Colonel  G.  W. 
Thompson  are  the  principal  men  in  the  present  company. 

THE    POWERVILLE    ROLLING-MILL. 

This  mill,  which  was  early  owned  by  Colonel  William 
Scott,  whose  name  has  been  frequently  mentioned,  was 
carried  on  by  him  until  his  death,  when  it  fell  in  the  di- 
vision of  his  estate  to  his  son  Elijah  D.  Scott.  By  him 
it  was  in  part  devised  and  in  part  deeded  to  Thomas  C. 
Willis,  who  carried  it  on  until  his  death,  in  1864,  in  con- 
nection with  his  forge.  Dr.  Tuttle,  in  his  review  of  the 
iron  manufactures  of  the  county  in  1853,  speaks  of  the 
admirable  economy  with  which  it  was  conducted.  Per- 
•  haps  no  mill  in  the  county  at  that  time  paid  better  inter- 
est on  the  capital  invested,  which  Mr.  Willis  estimated  at 
$50,000.  The  profitableness  of  the  concern  was  owing 
to  the  careful  management  and  also  to  the  kind  of  iron 
made,  which  was  mostly  hoop  iron,  then  very  profitable. 
It  was  estimated  that  the  mill  used  about  500  tuns  of 
blooms  a  year,  of  coal  600  tons,  and  the  product  in  hoop 
and  rod  iron  was  about  450  tons,  which  averaged  at  that 
time  $100  per  ton.  Mr.  Willis  was  a  man  deservedly 
popular  with  all  who  had  dealings  with  him  and  highly 
esteemed  and  respected  throughout  the  county. 

The  mill  is  now  owned  principally  by  Benjamin  F. 
Howell,  the  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Willis,  who  leases  the  forge 
for  the  manufacture  of  scrap  blooms.  The  rolling-mill  is 
not  at  present  in  operation. 

ANTHRACITE    FURNACES. 

BOONTON. 

In  1830  the  New  Jersey  Iron  Company,  incorporated 
under  an  act  of  the  Legislature  dated  November  7th 
1829  (the  incorporators  being  William  Green  jr.,  Apollos 
R.  Wetmore  and  David  W.  Wetmore),  commenced  the 
erection  of  the  extensive  iron  works  at  Boonton  two  miles 
above  the  old  slitting-mill  of  the  Ogdens.  These  have 
grown  to  be  by  far  the  largest  and  most  complete  in  the 
county.  At  first  the  works  were  under  the  supervision 
and  management  of  Messrs.  Green  and  Wetmore,  who 
were  large  iron  dealers  in  New  York;  afterward  of  Wil- 
Jiam  Green  and  Lyman  Dennison,  forming  the  firm  of 
Green  &  Dennison.  The  whole  village  with  the  excep- 
tion of  one  store  and  two  or  three  dwelling  houses  be- 
longed exclusively  to  the  company.  In  the  beginning 
most  of  the  works  were  under  one  roof.  They  consisted, 
says  Isaac  S.  Lyon  in  his  sketch  of  the  town,  of  a  rolling- 
mill,  a  number  of  puddling  and  heating  furnaces,  an  old 


fashioned  trip-hammer,  a  slitting  machine  and  a  small 
foundry.  They  were  mostly  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  sheet,  hoop  and  bar  iron.  There  was  a  refinery  also, 
below,  on  the  bank  of  the  river. 

There  was  a  small  furnace  built  in  1833,  which  was 
first  lighted  by  the  ladies  residing  at  the  agent's  house, 
on  the  afternoon  of  February  27th  1834.  What  is  now 
called  No.  i  furnace,  which  uses  anthracite  coal,  was 
built  about  1848.  The  furnace  of  1833  was  of  course  a 
charcoal  furnace;  for  George  Crane  of  Yniscedwin  iron 
works,  in  Wales,  did  not  bring  his  experiments  with  an- 
thracite to  success  until  1838,  the  difficulty  being  in  all 
previous  trials  that  only  a  cold  blast  had  been  used.  In 
the  March  1838  number  of  the  Journal  of  the  American 
Institute  the  editor  says  in  a  note:  "A  sample  has  been 
shown  us  of  good  iron  made  solely  by  means  of  anthracite 
coal.  It  is  the  result  of  a  long  course  of  experiments,  as 
we  are  informed."  The  next  number  of  the  journal  con- 
tains a  report  from  Mr.  Crane  of  his  successful  work. 

David  Thomas  was  with  Mr.  Crane  in  Wales,  and  as 
his  agent  came  to  this  country  and  started  the  Crane  iron 
works,  at  Catasauqua,  Pa.  His  son  Samuel  Thomas  su- 
perintended the  erection  of  the  Boonton  furnace  until  he 
left  it  to  build  the  Thomas  Iron  Company's  furnaces  at 
Hokendauqua,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  George  Jen- 
kins, who  continued  till  his  death  at  Boonton  in  charge 
of  the  furnaces. 

For  some  reason  the  New  Jersey  Iron  Company  failed, 
and  its  property  was  sold  by  the  sheriff  July  19th  1852. 
The  stockholders  lost  every  cent  of  their  investment,  but 
every  debt  due  to  outsiders  was  fully  paid.  The  pur- 
chaser was  Dudley  B.  Fuller,  the  principal  creditor,  to 
whom  it  is  said  the  company  owed  $165,000.  Mr.  Fuller 
some  time  after  took  into  partnership  with  him  James 
Cowper  Lord,  forming  the  firm  of  Fuller  &  Lord.  This 
firm  continued  to  own  and  operate  the  works  until  the  firm 
was  dissolved  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Fuller,  which  occurred 
in  1868.  Mr.  Lord  died  in  1869.  The  works  were  car- 
ried on  a  short  time  by  the  executors  of  the  deceased 
partners,  but  at  length,  in  1876,  the  whole  interest  was 
purchased  by  the  estate  of  J.  Cowper  Lord,  which  is  still 
the  owner. 

In  1853,  when  Dr.  Tuttle  visited  these  works,  they 
were  being  operated  by  Fuller  &  Lord.  The  rolling-mill 
and  puddling  furnaces  covered  more  than  an  acre  of 
ground  exclusive  of  the  large  nail  and  spike  factory,  the 
coopering  mill  and  the  blast  furnace,  then  recently  built. 
The  Morris  Canal  and  Rockaway  River  at  Boonton  run 
nearly  parallel,  and  both  make  a  rapid  descent  to  the 
plains  below.  The  canal  by  an  inclined  plane  and  locks 
makes  a  difference  of  100  feet  between  its  upper  and 
lower  levels,  and  the  river  falls  a  still  greater  distance  in 
a  series  of  cascades.  These  circumstances  have  been 
made  the  most  of  by  the  builders  of  the  works  which  lie 
between  the  two.  The  coal,  ore  and  limestone  are  taken 
from  the  upper  level  of  the  canal  to  the  top  of  the  fur- 
nace ;  while  the  iron  product  passing  through  the  pud- 
dling, rolling,  heating  and  nail  mills,  is  put  up  in  kegs, 
made  on  the  ground   from   the  unsawed  timber,  and  is 


6o 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


ready  for  shipment  by  the  side  of  the  canal  at  its  lower 
level.  The  water  from  the  river  and  the  waste  water  of 
the  canal  furnish  motive  power.  William  G.  Lathrop 
was  then  the  general  manager,  and  his  long  experience 
made  the  business  profitable  and  constantly  increasing 
during  the  lives  of  the  two  partners. 

From  October  ist  1852  to  May  ist  1853,  a  period  of 
seven  months,  the  following  statistics  show  the  extent  of 
their  operations:  Pig  iron  puddled,  3,774  tons;  nail 
plate,  rolled,  3,000  tons;  spike  rods  rolled,  885  tons; 
scrap  iron  used,  784  tons;  ore  used  in  the  puddling  fur- 
naces, 1,000  tons;  anthracite  coal  consumed,  5,656  tons; 
amount  of  wages  disbursed,  about  $36,000.  During  the 
same  period  six  spike  machines,  employing  22  men  and 
boys,  made  1,874,000  pounds  or  836  tons  of  iron  spikes; 
73  nail  machines,  worked  by  100  hands,  produced  56,179 
casks  of  nails,  of  100  pounds  each,  making  a  total  of 
2,800  tons.  At  the  cooper  shop  casks  were  made  at  the 
rate  of  120,000  per  annum.  The  whole  establishment,  in- 
cluding blast  furnace,  etc.,  gave  employment  to  400 
hands,  whose  annual  wages  amounted  to  $120,000. 

A  correspondent  of  Harper's  Monthly  (J.  R.  Chapin), 
in  the  July  i860  number  of  that  magazine,  gives  a  very 
graphic  and  correct  description  of  the  Boonton  works  as 
they  then  were,  and  substantially  as  they  had  been  for 
the  seven  years  previous.  Up  to  that  time  there  had 
been  expended  on  the  works  about  half  a  million  of  dol- 
lars. In  1864  the  number  of  kegs  of  nails  turned  out 
was  173,000,  then  considered  a  larger  product  than  that 
of  any  similar  establishment  in  the  United  States.  Just 
before  the  war  the  owners  commenced  the  erection  of 
the  second  blast  furnace,  which  was  completed  after  the 
war  closed.  In  1872-3  the  works  touched  the  highest 
point  of  their  prosperity.  There  were  then  two  blast 
furnaces,  whose  yearly  capacity  was  20,000  tons,  under 
the  management  of  George  Jenkins,  in  wliich  the  con- 
cern continued  until  his  death,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  his  son  H.  C.  Jenkins;  the  large  mill,  under  Philip 
Wooten,  was  375  by  275  feet  in  size  and  contained  12 
double  puddling  furnaces,  one  scrap  furnace,  five  trains 
of  rolls,  two  squeezers,  four  nut  machines,  etc.,  etc.  The 
upper  nail  factory,  under  James  Holmes,  contained  100 
nail  machines,  producing  250,000  kegs  of  nails  per 
annum.  The  lower  nail  factory,  which  was  in  charge  of 
Nathaniel  Jones  and  which  commenced  in  1855,  con- 
tained 25  machines  and  produced  10,000  kegs  of  nails 
per  annum.  In  1875  this  mill  contained  50  machines, 
with  a  capacity  of  30,000  kegs  per  annum,  but  of  a 
smaller  size  than  those  made  at  the  upper  mill.  The 
saw-mill,  in  charge  of  George  M.  Gage,  turned  out  about 
3,000,000  staves  and  400,000  keg  heads  per  annum.  At 
the  cooper  shop,  of  which  Amzi  Burroughs  was  the 
superintendent,  the  staves  and  heads  were  put  up  ready 
to  be  filled  with  nails.  A  new  foundry  built  in  1857 
turned  out  about  400  tons  of  castings  each  year,  making 
all  that  were  required  for  the  uses  of  the  other  mills,  etc. 
It  was  under  the  superintendence  of  Paul  Glover.  G.  W. 
Eaton  was  outside  superintendent  and  Henry  W.  Crane 
had  charge  of  the  transportation.     The  whole  establish- 


ment was  thoroughly  organized  and  complete  in  itself. 
Over  700  men  and  boys  were  given  constant  employment. 
The  panic  of  1873,  occurring  as  it  did  shortly  after  the 
death  of  the  two  partners,  brought  about  a  complete  stag- 
nation of  business.  This  was  too  large  a  concern  to  be 
operated  by  any  one  man  of  less  than  enormous  capital. 
The  owners  of  the  property  could  not  agree  upon  a  suit- 
able rent  with  any  tenant  who  might  be  disposed  to  under- 
take it,  so  that  except  from  1873  to  1876,  when  it  was 
run  by  the  sons  of  Dudley  B.  Fuller,  and  a  short  time  in 
1880,  when  one  furnace  was  in  blast,  the  works  have  lain 
idle.  The  town,  depending  upon  this  single  industrj-, 
suffered  terribly  at  first  in  the  loss  of  its  citizens  and  the 
depreciation  of  property;  but  silk  mills  and  other  indus- 
tries have  since  been  set  on  foot  which  have  restored  to 
the  place  something  of  its  former  prosperity. 

PORT    ORAM. 

•  So  far  as  railroad  and  canal  facilities  are  concerned 
Port  Oram  is  that  place  in  the  county  best  adapted  for 
the  manufacture  of  iron.  The  Mojris  Canal  and  the 
Morris  and  Essex  Railroad  pass  through  the  place  and 
the  Mount  Hope  and  Chester  branches  terminate  here. 
In  addition  to  these  within  the  last  year  the  High  Bridge- 
branch  of  the  Central  of  New  Jersey,  and  the  Dover  and 
Rockaway  road,  connecting  with  the  Hibernia  Railroad, 
have  made  this  their  junction.  It  is  a  place  which  has 
grown  up  almost  entirely  since  the  war,  and  is  named 
from  Robert  F.  Oram,  who  laid  it  out. 

The  Port  Oram  Iron  Company  was  incorporated  March 
31st  1868,  its  incorporators  being  John  C.  Lord,  Robert 
F.  Oram,  William  G.  Lathrop,  C.  D.  Schubarth,  James 
H.  Neighbour,  W.  H.  Talcott,  J.  Covper  Lord,  Henry 
Day  and  Theodore  F.  Randolph,  and  the  possible  capital 
$300,000.  Nearly  all  these  gentlemen  were  connected  in 
some  way  with  the  owners  of  the  Boonton  iron  works, 
who  also  owned  the  Mount  Pleasant  and  other  mines  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood.  The  furnace  was  much 
larger  than  either  of  the  ones  at  Boonton,  its  capacity 
being  150,000  tons  yearly.  It  cost  with  the  land  and 
improvements  over  $200,000,  and  was  built  in  the  years 

1868  and    1869.     It  was  first  put  in  blast  August  27th 

1869  by  its  owners,  but  May  4th  1872  Ario  Pardee  leased 
the  furnace  for  four  years,  and  during  that  time  it  was  in 
very  successful  operation.  During  the  last  year  in  which 
it  was  run  it  produced  nearly  13,000  tons  of  iron. 

The  company  originally  issued  stock  to  the  amount  of 
$150,000,  which  was  entirely  consumed  in  the  construe-, 
tion  of  the  furnace  and  it  became  necessary  to  raise 
$100,000  additional;  this  was  done  by  issuing  bonds  to 
that  amount,  taken  almost  entirely  by  the  stockholders. 
In  January  1877  the  furnace  was  sold  under  foreclosure 
of  the  mortgage  given  to  secure  these  bonds,  and  bought 
in  for  the  bondholders,  who  reorganized  under  the  name 
of  the  Port  Oram  Furnace  Company.  It  is  now  out  of 
blast. 

Besides  the  furnace  there  is  at  Port  Oram  a  forge  built 
in  1877-8  by  John  Hance  and  Robert  F.  Oram,  where 
pig  iron  is  rapidly  refined  by  modern  and  improved  ma- 


PORT  ORAM  IRON  WORKS— CHESTER  FURNACE— UNION  FOUNDRY. 


6i 


chinery.  It  was  started  August  5th  1878.  The  forge  is 
now  in  operation,  employing  about  14  hands.  The 
"  run-out  "  connected  with  the  forge  has  not  been  in 
operation  recently.  In  detail,  there  are  here  one  6-twier 
run-out  furnace,  capable  of  producing  12  tons  per  day; 
four  double-twiered  fires  for  making  anthracite  blooms 
or  blooms  from  pig  iron,  the  four  fires  capable  of  produ- 
cing 200  tons  of  blooms  per  month;  and  four  scrap- 
bloom  fires,  capable  of  producing  200  tons  per  month; 
all  these  estimates  calculated  upon  double  time,  or  run- 
ning day  and  night.  Power  is  supplied  by  steam  boilers 
of  80  horse  power.  The  steam  hammer  has  a  drop 
weight  of  2,200  pounds,  stroke  30  inches.  Blast  is  pro- 
duced by  a  double  cylinder  perpendicular  blowing  en- 
gine, built  by  Wrin  &  Brother,  Lebanon,  Pa.,  at  a  cost  of 
$3,200.  The  capital  stock  of  the  company  was  $50,000, 
of  which  $32,000  was  expended  .in  the  erection  of  the 
forge,  leaving  $18,000  unissued.  The  officers  of  the  com- 
pany are  as  follows:  Robert  F.  Oram  president;  John 
Hance,  vice-president;  William  G.  Lathrop,  treasurer; 
Edward  Hance,  secretary. 

THE    CHESTER    FURNACE. 

The  Chester  furnace,  situated  west  of  Chester  village, 
was  built  in  1878  by  the  Jersey  Spiegel  Iron  Company, 
for  the  purpose  of  making  spiegel-eisen  out  of  residuum 
which  is  the  refuse  of  franklinite  after  the  zinc  is  extracted. 

The  project  was  abandoned,  however,  after  the  com- 
pletion of  the  furnace,  and  in  the  spring  of  1879  it  was 
leased  for  a  term  of  years  to  W.  J.  Taylor  &  Co.,  who  ran 
it  on  iron  until  the  summer  of  1880,  when  the  original 
stack,  which  was  11  feet  bosh  and  40  feet  high,  was  found 
to  be  too  small  to  be  profitable.  It  was  torn  down  by 
the  lessees  and  rebuilt  60  feet  high  and  13  feet  bosh,  and 
it  is  now  in  successful  blast,  averaging  a  production  of 
240  tons  per  week  red  short  mill  iron,  made  from  Chester 
sulphur  ores  after  roasting  in  the  Taylor  kilns,  brand 
"Jersey."  The  iron  ranks  very  high  as  a  mill-iron,  and 
is  used  mainly  for  sheets  and  plates,  and  also  as  a  mix- 
ture with  poor  cold-short  English  irons — one-third  of  this 
iron  mixed  with  two-thirds  of  Middlesborough  pig  making 
a  good  common  iron. 

STEPHENS    FURNACE. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  Morris  and  Essex  Railroad, 
iust  before  reaching  Drakesville  station  from  the  east,  is 
an  iron  furnace  and  smoke  stack  erected  in  1877  by  Wil- 
liam A.  Stephens,  after  a  patent  of  his  own.  The  process 
consists  in  introducing  the  ore,  pulverized  and  heated, 
from  the  top  of  the  furnace  to  the  main  fires  below,  and 
its  inventor  claimed  that  he  could  make  a  ton  of  iron 
with  a  ton  of  coal.  About  twenty  tons  of  iron  were  man- 
ufactured when  the  furnace  was  first  constructed,  but 
since  then  it  has  been  lying  idle. 

FOUNDRIES    AND    MACHINE    SHOPS. 

Besides  the  foundries  which  have  been  mentioned  in 
connection  with  furnaces  and  other  iron  works  there  have 
been  several  independent  establishments.  Some  of  these 
had  but  a  comparatively  short  existence.     About  the  year 


1835  Joseph  C.  Righter  built  one  at  Rockaway  on  Berry's 
Brook,  and  a  little  farther  up  the  stream  a  manufactory 
for  making  iron  axles.  The  foundry  is  still  standing,  but 
it  has  not  been  used  for  over  twenty  years  for  the  pur- 
pose for  which  it  was  built.  It  belonged  to  the  late 
Richard  Stephens  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

THE    UNION    FOUNDRY. 

In  1845  James  Fuller  and  Mahlon  Hoagland  erected  a 
foundry  on  the  bank  of  the  canal  in  Rockaway,  which 
was  adapted  to  doing  a  large' business.  They  had  hardly 
gotten  their  works  in  complete  order  before  an  unlocked 
for  calamity  came  upon  them.  At  half-past  10  in  the 
evening  of  September  i8th  1850  a  fire  broke  out  which 
in  an  hour  or  two  reduced  their  buildings  to  ashes.  A 
large  quantity  of  finely  pulverized  charcoal  was  in  the 
corner  of  the  foundry,  and  it  is  supposed  that  while  the 
workmen  were  pouring  the  molten  iron  into  the  moulds 
some  sparks  fell  into  this  charcoal,  which  slowly  ignited 
until  it  was  all  aglow  and  from  which  fire  was  communi- 
cated to  the  building.  An  insurance  of  $3,500  did  little 
toward  making  up  a  loss  estimated  at  $20,000.  Sixty 
hands  were  thrown  out  of  employment.  Fuller  &  Co. 
had  been  filling  orders  frorn  Nova  Scotia  and  New 
Mexico.  They  were  then  preparing  castings  for  the  new 
planes  of  the  Morris  Canal.  The  fire  broke  up  the  firm; 
Mr.  Fuller  went  to  California,  and  died  on  his  way  home. 
Mr.  Hoagland  remained.  Freeman  Wood,  purchasing  , 
the  property,  built  it  over  and  rented  it  to  Aaron  D. 
Berry,  with  whom  Mr.  Hoagland  was  associated.  In 
1853  they  were  employing  forty-two  hands,  and  con- 
suming 500  tons  of  coal  and  500  tons  of  pig  iron  per 
annum.  More  than  100  tons  of  the  castings  for  the 
Crystal  Palace  in  New  York  were  made  here. 

From  Mr.  Wood  the  ownership  of  the  property  passed 
to  the  Morris  County  Bank,  with  the  rolling-mill  propeir- 
ty,  and  from  the  bank  Mr.  Hoagland  rented  for  a  time" 
and  finally  purchased.  Associated  with  him  in  the 
ownership  were  Robert  F.  Oram  and  William  G.  Lathrop. 
The  firm  was  called  the  Union  Foundry  Company,  and, 
though  in  1873  Mr.  Hoagland  became  the  sole  owner, 
the  buisness  is  still  carried  on  in  that  name.  For  several 
years  past  the  business  has  been  constantly  increasing, 
and  throughout  the  dull  times  of  1874-7  the  works  were 
in  constant  operation.  Heavy  rolls  etc.  are  made  here 
for  the  foreign  trade  and  for  all  parts  of  the  United 
States.  Here  are  manufactured  also  the  ore  and  stone 
crushers  patented  by  Chas.  G.  Buchanan,  which  have 
proved  very  successful  wherever  tried.  Mr.  Buchanan 
has  very  recently  invented  a  train  of  magnetic  rolls  for 
the  separation  of  ore  from  its  impurities,  which  it  is 
claimed  will  make  many  ores  now  worthless  available  for 
iron-making.  The  Swedish  Iron  Company,  operating 
the  Rockaway  rolling-mill,  uses  these  rolls  to  purify  its 
sand  ore  at  Block  Island. 

THE   MORRIS   COUNTY    MACHINE    AND    IRON    COMPANY. 

This  company  was  organized   in   the  year  1868,  and 
has  erected  its   foundry  and  machine  shop  on  Sussex 


62 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


street  in  Dover,  near  the  site  of  the  foundry  which  Mr. 
McFarlan  sold  to  Alexander  Elliott  and  which  the  latter 
operated  until  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  a  few  years  since. 
It  is  doing  a  large  business  and  gives  employment  to, 
about  sixty  hands.  Much  of  its  work  is  for  the  mines  in 
the  vicinity  of  Dover,  building  pumps,  engines,  air-com- 
pressors, etc.  Hon.  George  Richards  is  president, 
William  H.  Lambert  treasurer,  and  D.  B.  Overton  super- 
intendent. 

HARTLEY   FOUNDRY. 

This  very  complete  though  comparatively  small  estab- 
lishment is  built  on  the  site  of  the  old  Welch  forge,  near 
the  Bartley  station  of  the  High  Bridge  Railroad.  Its 
machinery  is  moved  by  water.  William  Bartley,  the  pro- 
prietor, is  the  owner  of  the  patent  "  Bartley  water  wheel," 
and  his  principal  business  is  its  manufacture.  It  is  a 
turbine  wheel  of  great  excellence.  For  power,  economy 
of  water  and  convenience  of  adjustment  it  is  unsurpassed. 


CHAPTER  X. 


IRON   MINES   OF   MORRIS   COUNTY. 


>N  speaking  of  the  iron  manufactures  it  has 
been  necessary  to  give  more  or  less  of  the 
history  of  some  of  the  principal  mines  con- 
nected with  them,  such  as  the  Dickerson, 
Mount  Hope  and  Hibernia  mines.  Prior  to 
about  the  year  1850  the  ore  mined  in  the  county 
was  manufactured  largely  in  the  county  and  was 
raised  for  that  purpose.  The  charcoal  furnaces  of  the 
last  century,  the  anthracite  furnace  at  Boonton  and  the 
charcoal  forges — always  running,  but  with  their  period 
of  greatest  activity  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  century — 
were  the  principal  consumers.  The  demand  for  ore  was 
comparatively  limited.  After  1850  the  demand  for  ore 
for  shipment  to  other  counties  of  this  State  and  to  other 
States  began  to  assume  importance,  and  that  demand  has 
increased  until  the  mining  of  ore  is  now  the  principal  de- 
partment of  iron  industry  in  the  county. 

Professor  George  H.  Cook,  State  geologist,  in  his  re- 
ports for  the  years  1879  and  1880  has  given  very  com- 
plete lists  of  all  the  mines  in  the  county  and  of  their  ca- 
pacity. He  arranges  the  mines  of  the  State  in  four  belts, 
nearly  parallel  with  each  other,  running  northeast  and 
southwest. 

ist,  the  Ramapo  Belt,  which  begins  near  Peapack,  in 
Somerset  county,  and  extends  in  a  northeast  direction  by 
Pompton  to  the  State  line.  It  is  about  two  miles  wide  at 
the  southwest  and  at  the  New  York  line  its  width  is  five 
miles.  Mine  Mountain,  Trowbridge  Mountain,  the  low 
mountains  between  Denville  and  Boonton,  the  mountain 
extending  from  Boonton  to  Pompton  and  the  Ramapo 
Mountain  are  all  in  this  belt.     The  belt  includes    the| 


following  mines  in  Morris  county:  the  Connet  mine  in 
Mendham  township,  already  mentioned,  and  supposed  to 
have  been  worked  in  the  last  century  to  some  extent;  the 
Beers  mine,  in  Hanover  township,  on  the  farm  of  John 
H.  Beers,  from  which  only  a  small  amount  of  ore  has  yet 
been  shipped;  the  Taylor  mine  and  the  mine  on  the 
Cole  farm,  Montville  township;  and  the  Kahart,  Lana- 
gan,  De  Bow,  Jackson  and  Ryerson  mines  in  Pequannock 
township,  which  have  not  been  operated  to  any  extent 
since  1874. 

2nd,  the  Passaic  Belt,  next,  to  the  northwest,  which  has 
a  nearly  uniform  breadth  of  about  five  miles.  It  includes 
the  principal  mines  of  the  county  and  State.  In  Chester 
township  are  the  Pottersville,  Rarick,  Langdon,  (R.  D.) 
Pitney,  Budd  &  Woodhull,  Topping,  Samson,  Hotel, 
Collis,  Creamer  ist,  Swayze,  Cooper,  Hacklebarney, 
Gulick,  Creager,  Hedges,  Dickerson  Farm,  Creamer  2nd, 
De  Camp,  Leake,  Daniel  Horton  and  Barnes  mines. 
Some  of  these  mines  have  never  been  developed,  others 
only  partially.  The  Swayze,  Gulick,  Cooper  and  Hackle- 
barney have  been  worked  successfully.  The  Cooper  mine 
was  opened  in  December  1879,  on  the  farm  of  the  late 
General  N.  A.  Cooper,  and  is  operated  by  the  Cooper 
Iron  Mining  Company  as  lessee.  It  is  under  the  super- 
intendence of  John  D.  Evans.  From  the  14th  of  De- 
cember 1879  to  the  1st  of  December  1880  over  12,000 
tons  of  ore  was  shipped,  and  the  supply  seems  almost 
limitless.  For  the  first  eeventy-five  feet  the  shafts  pass 
through  a  soft  granular  ore,  very  much  decomposed  and 
of  a  reddish  color,  after  which  a  rich  granular  blue  ore 
was  struck.  The  vein  is  from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet  wide. 
The  Hacklebarney  mine  is  an  old  mine,  but  on  account  of 
the  prevalence  of  sulphur  in  the  ore  was  not  worked  ex- 
tensively until  it  came  into  the  hands  of  its  present 
owners,  the  Chester  Iron  Company.  Over  20,000  tons  of 
ore  were  shipped  from  this  mine  during  each  of  the 
years  1879  and  1880.  The  low  percentage  of  phosphorus 
admits  the  use  of  this  ore  in  making  Bessemer  steel,  and 
it  has  been  worked  continuously  since  before  1873. 
There  are  several  veins  and  many  openings  on  this  prop- 
erty, which  may  be  considered  as  not  one  mine  but  sev- 
eral. The  High  Bridge  Railroad  has  a  branch  to  this 
mine,  largely  facilitating  the  transportation  of  the  ore. 

In  Randolph  township  are  the  following  mines:  Hen- 
derson, George  (or  Logan),  David  Horton,  De  Hart  and 
Lawrence  (worked  by  the  Reading  Iron  Company)  Dal- 
rymple  (worked  by  the  Crane  Iron  Company),  Trowbridge, 
Solomon  Dalrymple,  Cooper,  Munson,  Lewis,  Combs, 
Van  Doren,  Bryant  (owned  by  D.  L.  and  A.  Bryant,  and 
worked  by  the  Bethlehem  Iron  Company),  Connor  Fow- 
land,  Charles  King,  King  McFarland,  Evers  (worked  by  the 
Saucon  Iron  Company),  Brotherton  &  Byram  (worked  by 
the  Andover  Iron  Company),  Millen  (owned  by  the 
Boonton  Company),  Randall  Hill  (operated  by  the  Crane 
Iron  Company),  Jackson  Hill  (supposed  to  be  worked 
out),  Canfield's  Phosphatic  Iron,  Black  Hills,  Dickerson, 
Canfield,  Baker,  Irondale  (owned  by  the  New  Jersey  Iron 
Mining  Company,  and  which  includes  the  Spring,  Sul- 
livan, Corwin,  Stirling,  Hubbard,  North    River,  Harvey 


IRON  MINES  IN  RANDOLPH. 


63 


and  Hurd  mines),  Orchard  (owned  by  the  estate  of  J.  C. 
Lord),  and  Erb  and  Scrub  Oak  (which  are  owned  by  the 
Andover  Iron  Company), 

The  King,  Dickerson,  Black  Hills  and  Canfield  mines 
are  on  the  property  of  the.  Dickerson  Suckasunny  Min- 
ing Company,  and  include  the  famous  Dickerson  mine, 
which  is  still  in  succesful  operation.  In  the  Geology  of 
New  Jersey,  published  in  1868,  the  estimated  product 
of  this  mine  to  that  date  is  given  as  500,000  tons,  since 
which  time  300,000  have  been  raised,  making  a  grand 
aggregate  of  over  three-quarters  of  a  million  of  tons.  It 
is  at  present  leased  by  Ario  Pardee,  and  the  ore  is  shipped 
mostly  to  his  furnaces  at  Stanhope.  There  are  slopes  in 
this  mine  over  900  feet  in  length,  and  the  big  vein  is 
over  25  feet  wide  in  some  places.  The  ore  commands  a 
ready  sale  on  account  of  its  richness,  and  brings  a  large 
royalty  to  the  owners  of  the  mine.  The  Dickerson 
Suckasunny  Mining  Company  was  incorporated  February 
24th  1854,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $300,000,  its  corpora- 
tors being  Philemon  Dickerson,  Mahlon  D.  Canfield, 
Frederick  Canfield,  Jacob  Vanatta,  Edward  N.  Dicker- 
son,  Silas  D.  Canfield  and  Philemon  Dickerson  jr.,  de- 
visees, or  interested  for  the  devisees  of  Governor  Mah- 
lon Dickerson,  the  late  owner  of  the  mine;  and  their  ob- 
ject was  to  continue  the  ownership  of  the  property  in 
the  family,  with  more  convenient  management.  This 
mine,  as  has  already  been  stated,  was  "  located  "  by  John 
Reading  in  1715  on  West  Jersey  right,  and  sold  by  Read- 
ing to  Joseph  Kirkbride  in  1716.  Johathan  Dickerson, 
the  father  of  Governor  Mahlon  Dickerson,  began  to  pur- 
chase of  the  Kirkbride  heirs  in  1779,  and  in  partnership 
with  Minard  La  Fevre  he  purchased  nearly  the  whole. 
His  son  Mahlon  purchased  of  his  father's  heirs  in  1807 
and  bought  out  La  Fevre  and  the  remaining  Kirkbride 
heirs.  During  the  remainder  of  his  life  he  continued  to 
operate  the  mine,  residing  on  the  premises  after  his  re- 
turn from  Philadelphia  in  1810.  It  afforded  him  ample 
means  for  the  indulgence  of  his  literary  tastes  and  be- 
nevolent projects,  and  to  lead  unembarrassed  a  public 
life  embracing  higher  political  distinctions  than  have 
been  attained  by  any  other  citizen  of  the  county. 

Dr.  Tuttle,  who  visited  the  mine  in  1853,  the  year  of 
tne  governor's  death,  says:  "The  appearance  of  the  vein 
is  very  singular.  It  looks  as  if  some  powerful  force  from 
beneath  had  split  the  solid  rock,  leaving  a  chasm  of  from 
six  to  twenty-five  feet,  and  that  the  ore  in  a  fused  state 
had  been  forced  into  this  chasm  as  into  a  mould.  But 
at  the  place  where  the  ore  was  first  seen  there  is  a  sort 
of  basin  with  a  diameter  of  thirty  feet.  This  was  full  of 
ore,  which  looks  as  if  the  melted  mass  had  gushed  over 
the  vein  and  flowed  into  this  basin,  as  we  sometimes  see 
the  melted  iron  run  over  from  a  mould  which  is  full." 

Next  to  the  Dickerson  mine  is  the  Byram  mine,  so 
called  from  John  Byram,  who  purchased  it  about  forty 
years  ago,  when  its  principal  value  seemed  to  be  in  a 
venerable  apple  orchard.  His  explorations  for  ore  were 
very  successful,  and  in  the  last  thirty  years,  during 
which  time  it  has  been  under  lease,  it  has  produced  an 
immense  amount  of  ore.     The  old  mine  slope  is  900  feet 


long.  The  vein  averages  from  six  to  seven  feet  in  width. 
A  narrow-gauge  railway  runs  from  the  mine  to  Ferro- 
monte,  carrying  the  ore  to  the  High  Bridge  Railroad,  by 
which  it  is  sent  to  the  furnace  of  the  Andover  Iron  Com- 
pany, the  lessee. 

The  Millen  mine,  near  the  Byram,  was  sunk  to  a  depth 
of  120  feet  and  produced  about  4,000  tons  of  ore  in  1853. 
It  was  then  owned  by  Green  cfe  Dennison,  and  with  their 
Boonton  works  it  passed  from  them  to  Fuller  &  Lord, 
and  thence  to  the  estate  of  J.  Cowper  Lord,  deceased. 

The  Baker  mine  on  the  same  range  is  on  the  farm  pur- 
chased by  Henry  and  William  H.  Baker  from  Stephen 
De  Hart  in  1847.  It  was  not  extensively  developed  until 
sold  by  the  Bakers,  June  6th  1873,  to  Selden  T.  Scran- 
ton  and  Isaac  S.  Waterman.  It  is  now  operated  and 
owned  by  the  Lackawanna  Iron  and  Coal  Company. 

Of  the  Irondale  mines  all  have  been  idle  of  late  years 
except  the  Stirling  and  Hurd  mines,  which  are  leased  to 
the  Thomas  Iron  Company.  Some  of  these  mines — as 
for  example  the  Stirling  and  one  formerly  called  the 
Jackson  mine,  from  its  owner,  Stephen  Jackson — are  of 
great  antiquity,  having  been  worked  with  profit  in  the 
last  century. 

The  Stirling  mine  shoot  has  been  followed  about  1,500 
feet,  on  a  gentle  pitch  to  the  northeast,  with  an  average 
thickness  of  six  feet  of  ore.  The  height  of  the  shoot  was 
ninety  feet  in  1879,  when  it  was  producing  about  1,200 
tons  per  month. 

The  Hurd  mine  was  opened  in  1872,  by  the  Thomas 
Iron  Company.  In  1874  a  subterranean  stream  of  water 
prevented  working  it  to  its  full  capacity  and  finally  led 
to  a  stoppage.  Similar  difficulty  was  met  with  in  the 
Harvey  and  Orchard  mines.  To  relieve  these  mines  and 
all  those  about  Port  Oram  the  Orchard  and  Irondale 
adit  was  projected.  It  was  a  tunnel,  having  its  mouth 
between  the  canal  and  the  Morris  and  Essex  Railroad 
between  Port  Oram  and  Dover  and  extending  westerly. 
In  a  description  of  it  given  by  L.  C.  Bierwirth,  mining 
engineer  and  agent  of  the  New  Jersey  Iron  Mining 
Company,  in  the  geological  report  of  1879  it  is  stated 
that  it  was  commenced  in  April  1877,  by  the  New  Jersey 
Iron  Mining  Company,  the  Thomas  Iron  Company  and 
the  trustees  of  the  estate  of  J.  Cowper  Lord,  to  drain 
their  mines.  The  mouth  of  the  discharging  ditch  is  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Rockaway  River,  and  the  ditch  and  main 
adit  had  been  carried  up  in  April  1879  on  the  southwest 
side  of  the  railroad  3,667  feet,  the  ditch  being  983  feet  and 
the  adit  2,684  feet.  At  present  there  are  795  feet  of 
open  cut,  2,888  feet  of  the  main  line  and  1,100  feet  of 
the  Irondale  branch,  which  will  be  350  feet  longer  when 
complete.  It  is  five  feet  wide  and  ascends  three-quarters 
of  an  inch  in  100  feet.  The  ground  encountered  has 
generally  been  coarse  gravel,  with  numerous  boulders 
and  occasional  beds  of  quicksand.  The  effect  on  mines 
over  1,500  feet  distant  has  been  remarkable,  and  wells  in 
the  neighborhood  have  been  entirely  dried  up. 

In  Rockaway  township  in  the  Passaic  belt  are  the  fol- 
lowing mines:  Johnson  Hill,  Hoff,  Dolan,  Washington 
Forge,  Mount  Pleasant,  Baker  (Dolan),  Richards,  Allen, 


64 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


Teabo,  Mount  Hope  (including  Hickory  Hill),  Swedes, 
Sigler,  White  Meadow,  Beach,  Hibernia,  Beach  Glen, 
Tichenor,  Righter,  Meriden,  Cobb,  Split  Rock  Pond, 
Greenville,  Chester  Iron  Company,  Davenport's,  Green 
Pond  or  Copperas,  Howell,  Kitchel  and  Charlottenburg. 

The  Johnson  Hill  and  Hoff  mines  are  on  the  Moses 
Tuttle  property  at  Mount  Pleasant,  the  one  falling. to 
Mrs.  Jane  De  Camp  and  the  other  to  Mrs.  Hannah  Hoff 
in  the  division  made  in  1822  of  the  Tuttle  property.  The 
Johnson  Hill  mine  is  owned  by  Ephraim  Lindsley,  of 
Dover,  and  has  not  developed  a  large  deposit.  The 
Hoff  mine  has  been  worked  almost  continuously  since 
1872  by  the  Chester  Iron  Company,  who  leased  from  the 
heirs  of  Hannah  Hoff.  The  Company  shipped  about 
6,000  tons  of  ore  in  half  of  the  year  1880,  and  the  ca- 
pacity of  the  mine  for  the  present  year  was  estimated 
at  15,000  tons.  The  openings  indicate  a  succession  of 
shoots  which  pitch  to  the  northeast.  The  ore  is  very 
solid  and  clean  and  said  to  be  especially  adapted  to  soft 
foundry  iron. 

The  Dolan  mine,  belonging  to  Bishop  Dolan,  has  not 
been  extensively  developed. 

The  Mount  Pleasant  mine  is  an  old  one,  having  been 
worked  to  some  extent  by  Moses  Tuttle.  Guy  Hinch- 
man  purchased  the  property  in  1818,  and  the  mine  was 
worked  until  the  shafts  reached  a  depth  which  prevented 
their  being  worked  to  profit  at  the  then  prices  of  ore 
and  methods  of  mining.  It  afterward  came  into  the 
hands  of  Green  &  Dennison,  of  the  Boonton  Company, 
and  since  then  it  has  been  in  almost  continuous  success- 
ful operation.  It  now  belongs  to  the  estate  of  J.  Cow- 
per  Lord,  deceased.  The  ore  is  very  rich  and  clean. 
The  depth  of  the  east  mine  in  1879  was  600  feet. 

The  Washington  Forge  mine,  worked  by  the  Carbon 
Iron  Manufacturing  Company,  is  on  the  old  Washington 
Forge  lot  of  Hoff  &  Hoagland.  The  length  of  the  vein 
on  this  property  is  not  very  great  and  there  is  a  prospect 
of  its  soon  being  exhausted. 

The  Baker  mine,  to  the  northeast  of  the  Mount  Pleas- 
ant, was  worked  by  the  Allentown  Iron  Company  until 
1877,  when  the  large  vein  suddenly  "  pinched  out  "  in 
the  bottom  and  the  lessees  were  unable  to  discover  its 
continuation,  if  any.  This  large  vein  is  to  the  east  of  the 
Mount  Pleasant  vein,  which  also  crosses  the  property  and 
which  has  been  worked  to  some  extent.  The  Allentown 
Iron  Company  was  sued  in  1877  by  the  Thomas  Iron 
Company,  which  owns  the  Richards  mine,  adjoining,  for 
alleged  overworking;  and  the  suit  occupied  the  time  of  a 
court  and  jury  for  over  a  month  in  October  and  Novem- 
ber 1877,  resulting  finally  in  a  disagreement.  The  suit 
was  at  last  compromised  and  settled.  The  shafts  on 
this  large  vein  were  sunk  about  300  feet,  and  the  vein 
was  in  its  widest  place  twenty-five  feet  wide.  The  ore 
was  exceedingly  rich  and  pure,  comparing  favorably  with 
the  Dickerson  and  best  Mount  Hope  ores. 

The  Richards  mine  is  very  old  and  is  named  from 
Richard  Faesch,  who  purchased  it  of  his  father's  estate. 
This  mine,  the  Allen,  Teabo,  Mount  Hope,  Hickory 
Hill  and   Swedes  are  all  on  the  old  Mount  Hope  tract 


purchased  by  Faesch  in  1772.  The  Richards  mine  was 
worked  and  operated  by  the  Dover  Company  and  its  suc-" 
cessors,  Blackwell  &  McFarlan,  and  by  Henry  McFarlan, 
was  sold  to  its  present  owners,  the  Thomas  Iron  Com- 
pany, October  30th  1856.  It  is  only  since  the  latter, 
change  of  ownership  that  its  wealth  has  been  fairly  de- 
veloped. There  are  two  veins  in  this  property,  as  on  the 
Baker;  the  southeastern  is  the  larger  and  the  one  princi- 
pally worked.  The  ore  is  sent  to  the  company's  furnaces 
at  Hokendauqua,  Pa. 

The  Allen  and  Teabo  mines  and  the  820  acres  on 
which  they  are  found  were  purchased  of  General  Doughty 
by  Canfield  &  Losey  in  the  sale  of  the  Faesch  lands. : 
From  them  the  property  passed  to  Goble  &  Crane,  and 
by  them  it  was  conveyed  to  Joseph  and  William  Jackson. , 
The  Jacksons  divided  the  property  between  them  in 
1828,  the  Allen  mine  as  it  is  now  called  falling  to  William 
and  the  Teabo  to  Joseph  Jackson.  The  presence  of  ore 
was  discovered  on  this  tract  by  Jonathan  Wiggins  many 
years  ago;  but  in  1826  Colonel  Jackson  marked  out  a 
place  and  set  one  William  Teabo  to  work,  with  the 
promise  that  if  he  found  ore  the  vein  should  be  named 
after  him.  The  vein  was  reached  in  about  30  feet  and- 
Ihe  name  of  Teabo  has  been  attached  to  the  mine  ever 
since.  Colonel  Jackson  worked  the  mine  for  his  forges 
until  185 1,  when  he  sold  it  to  Samuel  B.  Halsey,  who  sold 
it  the  next  year  to  the  Glendon  Iron  Company,  its  present 
owners.  For  many  years  after  the  Glendon  Company 
purchased  it  it  lay  idle  and  was  supposed  to  have  been 
exhausted;  but  the  discovery  that  another  vein  crossed 
the  property  revived  operations,  and  for  several  years  it 
has  yielded  annually  a  large  amount  of  very  rich  iron 
ore, 

The  Allen  mine  was  sold  by  William  Jackson,  June  ist 
1830,  to  Caleb  O.  Halstead  and  Andrew  Brown  in  ignor- 
ance of  its  mineral  value,  and  December  27th  1848  it  was 
sold  to  Jabez  L.  Allen,  who  developed  the  rich  veins 
which  crossed  it.  He  sold  it  January  loth  1868  to  Con- 
rad Poppenhusen,  for  $100,000,  and  it  is  now  owned  by 
the  New  Jersey  Iron  Mining  Company.  It  has  been 
operated,  however,  for  many  years  by  the  Andover  Iron 
Company,  and  is  under  the  management  of  Richard 
George. 

The  Mount  Hope  mines  have  perhaps  produced  more 
ore  than  any  other  in  the  county.  As  we  have  stated, 
they  were  worked  by  Jacob  Ford,  to  supply  his  forges  on 
the  east  branch  of  the  Rockaway,  before  1770,  and  by 
John  Jacob  Faesch,  to  supply  his  furnace  and  forges,  to 
1800.  From  Faesch  they  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Phillipses,  and  from  them  to  the  Mount  Hope  Mining 
Company.  Edward  R.  Biddle,  owning  or  controlling  the 
stock  of  this  company,  about  1852  transferred  or  sold  it  to 
the  present  owners,  Moses  Taylor  and  others,  who  are 
also  the  principal  stockholders  of  the  Lackawanna  Iron 
and  Coal  Company.  In  effect  the  property  is  owned  by 
the  last  named  company.  It  is  estimated  that  r,ooo,ooo 
tons  of  ore  have  been  taken  from  this  mine  since  it  was 
first  opened.  The  great  Jugular  vein  originally  jutted 
out  of  the  ground  like  a  cliff,  on  the  north   side  of  the 


IRON  MINES  IN  ROCKAWAY  TOWNSHIP. 


65 


-  road  west  of  the  Mansion  House.  It  is  of  great  width 
and  developed  for  an  enormous  distance.  Besides  this 
vein  there  are  at  least  four  other  large  developed  veins  on 
the  property. 

The  Swedes  mine,  so  called  from  the  quality  of  the 
iron  made  from  the  ore,  is  on  the  original  Mount  Hope 
tract,  but  to  the  east  of  the  range  of  the  mines  just  men- 
tioned, and  between  Rockaway  and  Dover.  It  was  dis- 
covered as  early  as  1792  or  1794  by  one  John  Howard, 
who  was  in  the  employ  of  Stephen  Jackson  and  mining 
at  Hibernia.  One  Saturday  he  was  returning  to  his  home 
in  Dover  with  his  week's  provisions  when,  instead  of  fol- 
lowing the  road,  he  crossed  through  the  woods.  Setting 
down  his  provisions  and  a  compass  he  carried,  to  rest,  he 
"noticed  the  needle  standing  nearly  east  and  west.  He 
communicated  the  fact  to  his  employer,  who  told  Mr. 
Faesch.  After  Faesch's  death  Mr.  Jackson  purchased  a 
large  body  of  land  from  the  Mount  Hope  tract  near 
Rockaway,  including  the  land  on  which  this  attraction 
was  discovered.  After  the  death  of  Stephen  Jackson 
this  property  came  into  the  possession  of  his  son,  Colonel 
Joseph  Jackson,  who  developed  the  mine,  driving  in  a 
'tunnel,  etc.  October  ist  1847  Colonel  Jackson  sold  it 
to  Green  &  Dennison,  of  the  Boonton  Company,  who 
operated  it  extensively.  The  Boonton  blast  furnace  was 
run  principally  on  this  ore  for  one  hundred  and  twenty 
weeks  at  one  time.  This  mine  was  very  convenient  for 
the  Boonton  Company,  because  the  mouth  of  the  adit  or 
tunnel  was  on  the  bank  of  the  Morris  Canal,  and  trans- 
portation was  easy  down  that  canal  about  ten  miles  to 
the  company's  furnace.  Since  the  war,  however,  the 
mine  has  been  abandoned. 

The  White  Meadow  mine  was  known  before  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  mine  lot  being 
''  taken  up "  at  that  early  date.  No  doubt  ore  was 
obtained  from  it  to  use  in  the  White  Meadow  and  other 
forges  by  Beman,  Munson  and  the  other  forgemen  of 
that  date.  Still  the  vein  is  narrow,  and  though  the  ore 
is  of  excellent  quality  the  mine  has  not  been  steadily 
worked.  It  was  leased  in  1853  to  the  Boonton  Iron 
Company  under  a  lease  which  obligated  them  to  raise 
2,000  tons  per  annum.  It  then  belonged  to  Colonel 
Thomas  Muir,  and  is  now  owned  by  his  son  Peter  Muir, 
his  daughter  Mrs.  Ann  J.  Hoagland',  and  his  son-in-law 
Mahlon  Hoagland. 

Adjoining  the  White  Meadow  tract  are  lands  of  Dr. 
Columbus  Beach,  on  which  the  White  Meadow  vein  has 
been  traced  and  an  opening  made  called  the  Gidd  mine. 
It  was  last  operated  by  the  Musconetcong  Iron  Company. 

The  Hibernia  mines  are  upon  one  vein,  extending  at 
least  two  miles  in  length.  Where  it  cropped  out  of  the 
south  side  of  the  hill  at  Hibernia  it  was  operated  by 
Samuel  Ford,  Stirling  and  those  who  preceded  them,  and 
adjoining  to  the  northeast  the  "  Ford  mine  ''  was  opera- 
ted as  we  have  seen,  by  Jacob  Ford  and  his  lessees  and 
grantees.  But  those  operations  were  small  compared 
with  the  mining  of  the  last  thirty  years.  Taking  them  in 
order,  the  mine  to  the  southwest  is  the  Beach  mine, 
owned  by  the  New  Jersey  Iron  Mining  Company,  for- 


merly by  Conrad  Poppenhusen,  who  purchased  of  Dr.  C. 
Beach.  It  was  first  opened  about  the  close  of  the  war, 
and  is  now  being  operated  by  the  Andover  Iron  Com- 
pany. Next  to  this  is  the  "  Theo.  Wood  mine,"  the 
oldest  opening  of  them  all,  and  covering  the  vein  on  the 
side  and  foot  of  the  Hibernia  hill.  It  formerly  belonged 
to  the  two  sons  of  Benjamin  Beach,  Chilion  and  Samuel 
Searing  Beach.  The  share  of  Chilion  was  bought  by  his 
son  Columbus,  and  Thomas  Willis,  of  Powerville,  pur- 
chased the  other  half.  Dr.  Beach  and  Willis  sold  the 
mine,  January  nth  1853,  to  Theodore  Wood  for  $14,000, 
which  was  supposed  to  be  an  excellent  sale;  but  in  1865 
it  was  sold  to  Conrad  Poppenhusen  for  five  times  that 
amount.  It  belongs  now  to  the  New  Jersey  Iron  Mining 
Company,  which  leases  it  to  the  Andover  Iron  Company. 
With  the  other  mines  owned  or  leased  by  the  latter  com- 
pany it  is  under  the  management  of  Richard  George. 
Next  in  order  is  the  Old  Ford  mine,  now  owned  by  the 
Glendon  Iron  Company.  This  company,  being  the 
lessee  of  the  mines  beyond,  has  not  driven  its  Ford  mine 
so  rapidly  as  those  leased  by  the  company,  holding  it  in 
reserve.  Next  to  this  mine  are  the  Crane  mine,  belong- 
ing to  the  estate  of  Mrs.  Eliza  A.  Crane,  one  of  the 
daughters  of  Colonel  William  Scott,  and  the  De  Camp 
mine,  belonging  to  the  heirs  of  Mrs.  Augusta  De  Camp, 
wife  of  Edward  De  Camp  and  another  one  of  the 
daughters  of  Colonel  Scott.  Both  of  these  mines  and 
the  Upper  Wood  mine  are  and  have  been  for  many  years 
leased  and  operated  by  the  Glendon  Iron  Company, 
whose  general  superintendent'  and  manager  is  George 
Richards,  of  Dover.  The  Upper  Wood  mine,  so  called 
from  having  once  been  owned  by  Theodore  T.  Wood, 
and  to  distinguish  it  from  the  one  under  the  hill,  for- 
merly belonged  to  Elijah  D.  Scott,  a  son  of  Colonel 
William  Scott.  Beyond  the  Upper  Wood  mine  is  the 
Willis  mine,  which  was  once  the  property  of  Araminta 
Scott,  another  of  the  daughters  of  Colonel  Scott.  It  is 
now  operated  by  the  Bethlehem  Iron  Company  and  be- 
longs, as  does  also  the  Upper  Wood  mine,  to  the  New 
Jersey  Iron  Mining  Company. 

An  underground  railroad  has  been  constructed  from 
the  foot  of  the  hill  northeast  upon  or  in  the  vein  through 
the  bowels  of  the  mountain,  which  brings  the  product  of 
all  the  upper  mines  to  the  terminus  of  the  Hibernia 
Railroad,  on  which  all  the  ore  of  the  Hibernia  mines 
goes  to  market.  The  tonnage  of  this  road,  almost  en- 
tirely made  up  of  the  product  of  these  mines,  was  99,123 
tons  in  1879. 

The  Beach  Glen  mine  is  at  Beach  Glen,  near  the  site 
of  the  old  Johnston  iron  works  and  east  of  the  old  pond. 
It  was  formerly  the  property  of  Colonel  Samuel  S.  Beach, 
who  sold  it  to  Samuel  B.  Halsey  and  Freeman  Wood. 
They  sold  it  for  $4,000  to  the  Boonton  Company,  from 
whom  it  has  come  to  the  possession  of  the  estate  of 
James  Cowper  Lord,  deceased.  It  was  not  in  operation 
from  1875  to  1879.  There  are  two  large  veins  on  the 
property,  which  have  been  worked  to  a  depth  of  from  100 
to  130  feet.  The  mine  has  been  very  productive,  yielding 
large  quantities  of  ore. 


66 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


The  Cobb  mine,  east  of  the  Split  Rock  Pond  is  an  old 
mine,  owned  and  worked  for  many  years  before  his  death 
by  Judge  Andrew  B.  Cobb.  It  still  belongs  to  his  estate, 
and  with  the  forge  at  Split  Rock  is  under  lease  to  William 
D.  Marvel,  of  New  York. 

The  Split  Rock  Pond  mine  was  opened  within  the  last 
few  years  by  William  S.  De  Camp,  on  the  property  of 
Benjamin  F.  and  Monroe  Howell,  at  the  head  of  Split 
Rock  Pond.  Two  veins  of  good  size  not  fifty  feet  apart 
have  been  opened  upon,  with  a  good  quality  of  ore. 
Transportation  must  be  by  wagons  to  Boonton  or  Beach 
Glen,  which  prevents  development  except  when  prices  of 
iron  rule  high. 

The  mines  of  the  Chester  Iron  Company  (that  on  the 
Halsey  tract  now  owned  by  A.  S.  Hewitt,  the  Canfield  or 
Pardee  mine,  the  Davenport  mine,  the  Green  Pond  or 
Copperas  mine,  belonging  to  the  estate  of  Andrew  B. 
Cobb,  Howell's  mine,  Kitchel's  mine,  lately  Bancroft's, 
and  the  Charlottenburg  mine)  are  all  upon  what  appears 
to  be  one  vein,  having  its  principal  openings  at  the  Cop- 
peras works.  The  vein  lies  under  and  along  the  east  side 
of  Copperas  Mountain,  and  extends  with  more  or  less  in- 
terruption from  the  Pequannock  River  to  Denmark. 
Most  of  the  ore  is  strongly  impregnated  with  sulphur, 
which  prevented  its  being  used  by  the  old  forges  for 
making  iron.  The  absence  of  phosphorus  makes  it  very 
valuable,  however,  for  making  Bessemer  steel.  The 
mines  were  operated  by  Job  Allen  in  the  Revolutionary 
war,  and  by  Dr.  Charles  Graham  during  the  war  of  1812, 
and  large  quantities  of  the  ore  taken  out  for  making  cop- 
peras. A  little  was  probably  also  used  for  making  iron. 
In  1873  leases  were  made  of  this  mine  to  William  S. 
De  Camp,  who  transferred  them  almost  at  once  to  the 
Green  Pond  Iron  Mining  Company.  A  railroad  was 
built  to  the  Midland  Railroad,  and  over  6o,coo  tons  of 
iron  have  been  taken  out  by  the  tenants  in  the  last  eight 
years.     The  mines  are  not  now  in  operation. 

The  Musconetcong  Belt  covers  t  he  remainder  of  the 
county  to  the  northwest  of  the  Passaic  belt  (the  Pequesi 
Belt,  the  fourth  mentioned  by  Professor  Cook,  lying  en- 
tirely outside  of  the  county).  It  includes  the  following 
mines  in  Morris  county:  In  Washington  township.  Sharp, 
Kann,  Hunt  Farm,  Stoutenberg,  Fisher,  Marsh,  Dickin- 
son, Hunt,  Lake,  Naughright,  Sharp,  Rarick,  Hopler  and 
Poole;  in  Mount  Olive  township,  Shouse,  Cramer,  Smith, 
Appleget,  Smith  Lawrence,  Mount  Olive  or  Solomons, 
Drake  and  Osborne;  in  Roxbury  township.  Hilts,  Baptist 
Church,  King,  High  Ledge  and  Gove ;  in  Jefferson 
township,  Davenport,  Nolands,  Hurdtown,  Apatite, 
Hurd,  Lower  Weldon,  Weldon,  Dodge,  Ford,  Scofield, 
Fraser,  Duffee  and  Shongum. 

Many  of  these  mines  are  simply  opened  and  their  real 
value  not  developed.  Some  of  them  in  Jefferson  have 
been  operated  extensively.  The  Hurd  mine,  leased  by 
the  Glendon  Iron  Company  of  the  estate  of  John  Hurd, 
has  perhaps  produced  the  largest  quantity  of  the  best 
ore.  The  shoot  is  60  feet  high  and  40  feet  wide,  and  the 
slope  has  reached  a  length  of  1,450  feet.  The  ore  is 
shipped  by  way  of  the  Ogden  Mme  Railroad  and  Lake 


Hopatcong,  and   thence  to  the   company's  furnaces  at 
Glendon,  Pa. 

Through  the  kindness  of  G.  L.  Bryant,  of  the  High 
Bridge  Railroad,  of  H.  W.  Cortright,  superintendent  of 
the  Ogden  Mine  Railroad,  and  of  John  S.  Gibson,  of  the 
Iron  Era,  we  have  obtained  the  amount  of  ore  shipped 
from  the  county  or  from  one  part  of  the  county  to  Chester 
furnace  for  the  year  ending  July  ist  1881  over  the  High 
Bridge,  Ogden  Mine  and  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and 
Western  Railroads — the  Ogden  Mine  connecting  through 
Lake  Hopatcong  with  the  Morris  Canal.  The  amounts 
are  as  follows:  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Rail- 
road, 297,359  tons  9  cwt.;  Ogden  Mine  Railroad,  72,668 
tons  13  cwt.;  High  Bridge  to  Chester,  18,386  tons;  High 
Bridge  to  Phillipsburg,  161,135  '^""^  5  cwt.;  total,  549,- 
549  tons  7  cwt. 

Besides  this  amount  should  be  added  what  is  shipped 
from  the  Dickerson  mine  to  Stanhope  and  that  which  is 
sent  over  the  New  Jersey  Midland  Railroad.  Professor 
Cook  estimates  the  entire  ore  product  of  the  State  for 
the  year  1880  at  800,000  tons.  If  the  amount  is  the  same 
from  July  ist  1880  to  July  ist  r88i  then  Morris  county 
produces  over  two-thirds  of  all  the  ore  mined  in  the  State. 

From  the  "  Census  of  the  Production  of  Iron  Ore  in 
the  United  States  "  compiled  from  the  official  figures  for 
the  bulletin  of  the  Iron  and  Steel  Association,  we  extract 
the  following:  There  were  nineteen  mines  in  the  country 
which  produced  over  50,000  tons  each  during  the  census 
year,  two  of  which  are  in  Morris  county.  First  in  order 
is  the  Cornwall  Ore  Bank,  in  Lebanon  county.  Pa.,  with 
a  production  of  280,000  tons.  The  eleventh  in  rank  is 
the  Hibernia  mine,  in  this  county,  with  a  production  of 
85,623  tons,  and  the  nineteenth  is  the  Mount  Hope  mine, 
with  a  production  of  50,379  tons. 

■  Eleven  counties  produce  55.14  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
product,  of  which  Marquette  county,  Mich.,  is  credited 
with  17.14  per  cent.  The  three  leading  counties  and 
their  product  are:  Marquette,  Mich.,  1,374,812;  Essex, 
N.  Y.,  630,944;  Morris,  N.  J.,  568,420.  Thus  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  county  of  Morris  produced  about  three- 
quarters  of  all  the  iron  ore  raised  in  New  Jersey.  Sus- 
sex county  produced  70,365  tons,  and  Warren  county, 
50,214  tons. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION — TURNPIKES — THE   MOR- 
RIS    CANAL RAILROADS. 


Y  the  end  of  the  last  century  the  increased 
business  and  population  of  the  county  de- 
manded better  roads  than  had  thus  far  suf- 
ficed.    The  pack  saddle  had  been  supplanted 
by   wheels,    and   tolerable   roads  through    the 
county  had  been  built,  but  from  the  county  to 
the  seaboard  the  want  of  something  better  was 
The  first  turnpike  company  in  the  county  was  the 


TURNPIKES  AND  STAGE  LINES. 


67 


Morris  Turnpike  Company,  which  was  chartered  March 
9th  1801.  Its  corporators  were  Gabriel  H.  Ford,  David 
Ford  and  Israel  Canfield,  and  its  object  was  declared  to 
be  the  erecting  and  maintaining  of  a  good  and  sufficient 
turnpike  road  from  Elizabethtown,  in  the  county  of  Es- 
sex, through  Morristown,  in  the  county  of  Morris,  and 
from  thence  into  the  county  of  Sussex.  The  act.  of  in- 
corporation is  very  much  like  a  modern  railroad  act,  and 
provided  for  tolls  to  be  charged,  condemnation  of  lands, 
etc.,  etc.  The  road  was  actually  built,  entering  Morris 
county  at  Chatham,  and,  passing  through  Madison  in 
almost  a  straight  line,  ran  to  nearly  opposite  Washing- 
ton's headquarters  in  Morristown;  passed  through  Mor- 
ris and  Spring  streets  and  Sussex  avenue  in  Morristown, 
and  so  on  through  Walnut  Grove,  Succasunna  Plains, 
Drakesville  and  Stanhope  to  Newtown. 

February  23d  1804  Elias  Ogden,  Joseph  Hurd  and 
John  De  Camp  were  made  corporators  of  a  new  turnpike 
company,  to  be  called  the  Union  Turnpike  Comj^any, 
which  had  for  its  object  the  building  a  road  from  Mor- 
ristown through  Dover  and  Mount  Pleasant,  and  from 
thence  to  Sparta,  in  the  county  of  Sussex.  The  com- 
pany was  to  commence  building  the  road  at  Sparta  and 
work  eastward.  Under  the  auspices  of  this  company 
the  pike  was  made  which,  coming  east  from  Sparta,  ran 
through  Woodport,  Hurdtown,  Berkshire  Valley,  Mount 
Pleasant  and  Dover,  to  Morristown.  February  4th  1815 
the  company  was  allowed  by  act  of  Legislature  to  raise 
^7,500  by  lottery  to  pay  its  debts,  and  it  is  of  record  that 
a  road  near  Stanhope  was  built  with  money  raised  in 
this  manner. 

March  12th  1806  the  Newark  and  Mount  Pleasant 
Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated,  its  incorporators 
being  Joseph  T.  Baldwin,  Nathaniel  Beach,  Isaac  Pier- 
son,  Hiram  Smith  and  Joseph  Jackson.  This  road  en- 
tered the  county  at  Cook's  Bridge  and,  passing  through 
Whippany  and  Littleton,  fell  into  the  Union  turnpike  at 
Pleasant  Valley,  near  Dover.  It  was  abandoned  as  a 
turnpike  before  1833. 

March  3d  1806  a  company  was  chartered  to  build  a 
turnpike  from  Morristown  to  Phillipsburg,  with  a  branch 
from  Schooley's  Mountain  passing  by  the  celebrated 
mineral  springs  to  Hackettstown.  The  incorporators 
were  David  Welsh,  George  Bidleman,  Nicholas  Neighbour, 
Ebenezer  Drake,  Israel  Canfield,  James  Little,  John  Mc 
Carter,  Edward  Condict,  Harry  Cooper,  and  Samuel 
Sherred,  and  it.  was  ealled  the  Washington  Turnpike 
Company.  It  built  the  road  which,  leaving  Morristown  by 
the  court-house,  is  still  the  principal  road  to  Mendham; 
running  thence  through  Chester,  by  the  late  General 
Cooper's  mills,  to  German  Valley,  and  so  up  Schooley's 
Mountain,  through  Springtown,  to  the  mountain  hotels, 
where  it  branched,  the  "  spur  "  going  north  to  Hacketts- 
town and  the  main  line  continuing  through  Pleasant 
Grove  toward  Phillipsburg.  In  1823  the  property  of  this 
company  was  sold  by  the  sheriff  to  James  Wood,  who 
owned  the  road  until  1842,  when  he  made  a  reconvey- 
ance to  the  company.  Mr.  Wood  also  owned  the  fran- 
chises etc.,  of  the  Union  Turnpike  Company,  which  had 


been  sold  to  Sylvester  D.  Russel  and  by  his  widow  re- 
leased to  him.  The  executors  of  Mr.  Wood  sold  his 
interest  in  it  in  1852  to  A.  C.  Farmington  and  others, 
who  reorganized  the  company. 

At  the  same  time,  March  3d  1806,  the  Paterson  and 
Hamburg  Turnpike  Company  was  organized,  which 
built  the  turnpike  that,  beginning  at  Aquacknonk  Land- 
ing, in  Essex  county,  passed  through  Paterson  to  Pomp- 
ton,  and  so  up  the  valley  of  the  Pequannockto  Newfound- 
land, and  on  to  Hamburg  in  Sussex.  The  corporators 
named  in  the  act  were  Joseph  Sharp,  John  Seward, 
Robert  Colfax,  Martin  J.  Ryerson,  Charles  Kinsey, 
Abraham  Godwin,  Abraham  Van  Houten,  John  Odie 
Ford  and  Jacob  Kanouse. 

November  14th  1809  the  Parsippany  and  Rockaway 
Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated,  Tobias  Boudinot, 
Israel  Crane,  Benjamin  Smith,  Lemuel  Cobb,  John 
Hinchman  and  Joseph  Jackson  being  the  incorporators. 
It  began  at  Pine  Brook,  ran  up  through  the  Boudmot 
■  Meadows — the  dread  of  all  travelers  until  filled  in  through 
their  entire  length — Troy,  Parsippany,  Denville,  Rocka- 
way, and  across  the  mountain  to  Mount  Pleasant,  where 
it  joined  the  Union  turnpike.  July'  22nd  1822  this  turn- 
pike was  abandoned  as  such  and  was  laid  out  by  survey- 
ors of  the  highway  as  a  public  road,  and  it  is  still  the 
main  thoroughfare  from  that  part  of  the  country  to  New- 
ark etc. 

February  nth  181 1  the  Newark  and  Morris  Turnpike 
Company  was  chartered,  John  Doughty,  Benjamin  Pier- 
son,  Caleb  Campbell,  Seth  Woodruff,  Moses  W.  Combs 
and  Jabez  Pierson  being  the  incorporators.  The  road 
was  to  pass  through  South  Orange  to  Bottle  Hill  (Madi- 
son) or  to  Morristown. 

The  Columbia  and  Walpack  Turnpike  Company  was 
incorporated  in  1819. 

These  turnpikes  had  a  great  influence  in  developing 
the  resources  of  the  county — how  great  they  who  live  at 
the  present  day  of  steam  railroads  can  hardly  appreciate. 
They  were  not  profitable  to  the  incorporators,  and  the 
benefit  which  accrued  from  them  was  to  the  community 
at  large. 

Some  idea  can  be  gotten  of  the  means  of  communica- 
tion in  those  days  by  the  stage  route  advertisements. 
April  3d  1798  Pruden  Ailing  and  Benjamin  Green 
advertise  the  Hanover  stage  to  run  from  William  Par- 
rot's to  Paulus  Hook  (Jersey  City)  every  Tuesday, 
stopping  at  Munn's  tavern  in  Orange  and  William 
Broadwell's  in  Newark,  returning  the  succeeding  day. 
The  fare  was  one  dollar.  At  the  same  time  Benjamin 
Freeman  and  John  Halsey  advertised  stages  to  run  from 
Morristown  to  New  York  every  Tuesday  and  Friday, 
returning  every  Wednesday  and  Saturday.  The  stage 
started  from  Benjamin  Freeman's  at  6  in  the  morning, 
stopped  at  Stephen  Halsey's  at  Bottle  Hill  and  Israel 
Day's  at  Chatham,  and  from  thence  to  Mr.  Roll's,  at 
Springfield,  from  whence  the  stage  went  to  Paulus  Hook 
by  Newark,  but  passengers  desiring  to  go  by  Elizabeth- 
town  Point  could  have  a  conveyance  furnished.  The 
fare  to  the  Hook  was  $1.25,  and  to  Elizabethtown  $1. 


68 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


Ten  years  after,  May  30th  1808,  John  Halsey  adver-' 
tised  a  stage  from  Morristown  to  Elizabethtown  Point, 
to  start  from  his  house  at  Morristown  at  6  a.  m.  Mon- 
days, Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  to  arrive  at  the  Point  for 
the  first  boat  and  to  return  each  succeeding  day.  The 
fare  was  ^r.  A  four-horse  stage  ran  to  "  Powles  Hook" 
as  usual  on  Tuesdays  and  Fridays  of  each  week;  and  the 
next  year  (April  4th  1809)  John  Burnet  &  Co.  advertise 
a  stage  to  run  from  Seth  Gregory's  tavern,  on  Morris 
Plains,  through  Morristown,  Whippany,  Hanover,  Orange 
and  Newark,  to  the  "  city  of  Jersey,"  starting  at  6  a.  m. 
Mondays  and  Thursdays  and  returning  the  succeeding 
days.  They  claimed  that  the  route  was  shorter  than  any 
other  and  was  on  the  turnpike  nearly  all  the  way.  The 
fare  was  §1.50. 

In  181 2  William  Dalrymple's  stages  were  carrying 
people  from  Lewis  Hayden's  tavern  to  Elizabethtown 
Point  three  times  a  week  for  §t  each,  and  from  the  Point 
they  took  steamer  to  New  York.  December  22nd  of  this 
year  notice  is  taken  of  Governor  Ogden's  beautiful 
steamer,  just  completed,  which  went  from  Elizabeth  to 
Amboy  on  Friday,  December  19th,  to  take  out  papers. 
Returning  she  made  the  distance  of  thirteen  or  fourteen 
miles  in  iivo  Jwurs.  The  machinery,  "  which  differs  in 
many  respects  from  any  heretofore  built,"  was  made  by 
Daniel  Dod,  of  Mendham,  a  very  celebrated  inventor  and 
clock-maker. 

Sixteen  years  later,  April  26th  1828  McCoury,  Drake 
&  Co.  advertised  a  stage  "to  run  through  in  one  day  and 
by  daylight,"  for  §2  fare,  from  New  York  to  Easton,  via 
Elizabethport,  Morristown  and  Schooley's  Mountain 
Springs.  Passengers  could  leave  New  York  by  the 
steamer  "  Emerald  "  at  6  a.  m.,  and  returning  leave 
Easton  at  4  a.  m.  and  arrive  in  New  York  at  6  p.  m. 
While  this  was  the  through  route  the  Morris  and  Ne^^' 
York  mail  stages  left  Morristown  ^Mondays,  Wednesdays 
and  Fridays,  and  went  by  way  of  Hanover  and  Orange  to 
Newark,  whence  passengers  were  taken  to  the  city  by 
steamboat.  They  arrived  at  New  York  at  3  p.  m.,  and 
returning,  at  Morristown  at  5  p.  m.  The  fare  through 
was  $1.25. 

Ten  years  later  the  Morris  and  Essex  Railroad  was  in 
operation,  and  there  was  an  improvement  in  point  of 
time  and  comfort,  but,  as  will  be  observed,  little  in  the 
cost  of  travel. 

The  idea  of  making  the  Morris  Canal  was  first  con- 
ceived by  George  P.  McCulloch,  of  Morristown,  while  on 
a  fishing  excursion  to  Lake  Hopatcong,  well  known  as 
the  Great  Pond.  This  lake  was  925  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea,  and  originally  covered  an  area  of  five  square 
miles.  To  dam  up  its  outlet  and  luisband  the  winter 
rains,  and  then  lead  the  accumulated  waters  westward 
down  the  valley  of  the  Musconetcong  to  the  Delaware) 
and  eastward  to  and  down  the  valleys  of  the  Rockaway 
and  Passaic  to  Newark,  was  the  object  he  thought  at- 
tainable. The  region  to  be  traversed  was  rich  in  its 
mineral  products,  and  iron  was  manufactured  in  abund- 
ance in  the  fifty  forges  and  three  furnaces  which  were 
still  in   existence.      Thirty  forges  and   nine  furnaces  in 


this  neighborhood  had  fallen  into  disuse,  principally  for 
lack  of  cheap  transportation.  Mr.  McCulloch  attempted 
to  interest  the  State  in  his  project,  and  by  an  act  of  No- 
vember 15th  1822  the  Legislature  appointed  him,  with 
Charles  Kinsey,  of  Essex,  and  Thomas  Capner,  commis- 
sioners with  authority  to  employ  a  scientific  engineer  and 
surveyor  to  explore,  survey  and  level  the  most  practicable 
route  for  this  canal  and  to  make  an  estimate  of  the  cost 
thereof.  The  commissioners  reported  in  1823  and  re- 
ceived the  thanks  of  the  Legislature;  but  the  latter  could 
not  be  induced  to  make  it  a  State  affair,  and  left  it  to 
private  enterprise. 

Mr.  McCulloch  communicated  an  account  of  the 
enterprise  to  Cadwallader  D.  Colden  in  1832,  in  which 
he  speaks  as  follows  of  Professor  Renwick,  of  New  York, 
who  planned  the  construction,  as  well  as  of  others  con- 
cerned in  the  business: 

"  Be  it  here  broadly  stated  that  up  to  ihe  time  when 
the  Morris  Canal  became  a  Wall  street  speculation  lie 
was  considered  by  every  person  connected  with  the  en- 
terprise as  the  chief  engineer;  and  that  without  his  zeal, 
talent  and  science  it  would  not  within  our  day  and 
generation  have  emerged  beyond  a  scheme  transmitted 
to  a  more  liberal  and  enlightened  posterity. 

"In  April  1823  I  went  to  Albany,  and  with  Governor 
Clinton's  concurrence  obtained  from  the  Legislature  of 
the  State  of  New  York  a  grant  of  its  engineers  to  join  in 
the  Morris  survey.  But  even  this  co-operation  did  not 
seem  to  me  sufficient  to  counteract  the  apathy  of  friends 
or  the  prejudices  and  party  spirit  of  opponents.  I  there- 
fore wrote  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  then  secretary  of  war,  for  the 
aid  of  General  Bernard  and  Colonel  Totten,  heads  of  the 
U.  S.  engineer  department.  This  reinforcement,  with 
the  volunteer  services  of  General  Swift,  constituted  a 
weight  of  authority  sufficient  to  overpower  cavil,  igno- 
rance and  hostility.  From  Albany  I  proceeded  with 
Judge  Wright,  chief  engineer  of  the  Erie  Canal,  to 
Little  Falls,  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  Mr.  Beach  to 
take  the  levels  and  survey  the  route,  having  previously 
conversed  with  him,  and  agreed  with  Professor  Renwick 
to  entrust  him  with  that  task. 

"The  spring  and  summer  of- 1823  were  spent  by  me  in 
collecting  topographical  and  statistic  information,  as  also 
in  reconnoitering  the  various  routes,  in  company  with  the 
inhabitants  of  their  vicinity.  Here  a  singular  fact  should 
be  stated,  that  the  plain  good  sense  and  local  information 
of  our  farmers  staked  out  the  most  difficult  passes  of  the 
boldest  canal  in  existence,  and  that  in  every  important 
point  the  actual  navigation  merely  pursues  the  trace  thus 
indicated.  In  July  1823  Mr.  Beach  appeared  for  the 
first  time  on  the  scene  of  action,  guided  by  Mr.  Renwick, 
to  whom  the  deliberative  department  was  confided." 

December  31SI  1824  the  "Morris  Canal  and  Banking 
Company  "  was  incorporated,  with  a  capital  of  ^r, 000,000 
for  the  purpose,  as  stated  in  the  preamble,  of  constructing 
a  canal  to  unite  the  river  Delaware  near  Easton  with  the 
tide  waters  of  the  Passaic.  Jacob  S.  Thompson,  of  Sus- 
sex, Silas  Cook,  of  Morris,  John  Dow,  of  Essex,  and 
Charles  Board,  of  Bergen,  were  the  incorporators  named 
in  the  act;  and  George  P.  McCulloch  and  John  Scott, 
of  Morris  county,  Israel  Crane,  of  Essex,  Joseph  G. 
Swift,  Henry  Eckford  and  David  B.  Ogden,  of  the  city  of 
New  York,  were  appointed  commissioners  to  receive  sub- 
scriptions to  the  stock.      The  company  was  also  allowed 


MORRIS  CANAL— MORRIS  AND  ESSEX  RAILROAD. 


69 


to  do  a  banking  business  in  connection  Avith  its  canal,  and 
in  proportion  to  the  amount  expended  on  the  canal. 

Relative  to  the  financial  features  introduced  in  the 
organization  through  stock-jobbing  influences  Mr.  Mc- 
Culloch  speaks  as  follows: 

"  It  may  be  well  here  to  remark  that,  anticipating  the 
danger  of  throwing  the  whole  concern  into  the  control  of 
mere  foreign  capitalists,  the  draft  of  a  charter  provided 
that  a  certain  number  of  directors  should  be  chosen 
resident  in  each  county  penetrated  by  the  canal.  *  *  * 
Several  gentlemen  from  Wall  street  had  volunteered 
their  good  offices  and  very  kindly  took  post  in  the  Tren- 
ton lobby  after  my  departure.  Upon  their  suggestion 
the  draft  of  the  charter  was  transformed  into  its  present 
shape,  nor  did  I  receive  the  most  distant  hint  of  any 
alteration  until  the  bill  was  finally  passed.  A  company 
was  formed  and  myself  included  in  its  direction.  'J'he 
precarious  position  of  a  canal  coupled  to  a  bank  and 
diri;cted  by  men  of  operations  exclusively  financial  )vas 
obvious.  The  interests  of  the  country  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  iron  manufacture  were  merged  in  a  reckless 
stock  speculation.  I  did  all  in  my  power  to  arrest  this 
perversion,  but  soon  found  myself  a  mere  cipher,  stand- 
ing alone,  and  responsible  in  public  opinion  for  acts  of 
extravagant  folly,  which  I  alone  had  strenuously  opposed 
at  the  board  of  directors.  *  *  *  l  clung  to  the  sinking 
ship  until  every  hope  of  safety  had  vanished,  and  then 
vacated  my  seat  by  selling  out,  thus  saving  myself  from 
ruin,  if  not  from  loss.  From_  the  moment  the  charter, 
altered  without  my  knowledge,  was  obtained,  the  whole 
affair  became  a  stock-jobbing  concern,  the  canal  a  mere 
pretext;  my  efforts  to  recall  the  institution  to  its  duty 
were  regarded  as  an  intrusion,  and  every  pains  was  taken 
to  force  me  to  retire."     *     *     * 

"  Not  only  was  the  project  itself  first  conceived  by  me, 
but  I  employed  five  years  in  exploring  the  route  and  con- 
ciliating friends.  The  newspaper  articles,  the  correspond- 
ence to  obtain  information,  the  commissioners'  report, 
and  an  endless  catalogue  of  literary  tasks  were  from  my 
hand.  I  claim  to  have  single-handed  achieved  the  prob- 
lem of  rendering  popular,  and  accomplishing,  a  scheme 
demanding  vast  resources  and  stigmatized  as  the  dream 
of  a  crazed  imagination." 

The  route  of  the  canal  was  selected  and  the  estimate  made 
by  Major  Ephraim  Beach,  under  whose  direction  the  work 
was  executed.  The  greatest  difficulty  experienced  was 
in  the  inclined  planes,  which  were  not  in  successful  op- 
eration until  many  costly  experiments  were  made.  The 
first  completed  was  at  Rockaway,  and  passed  a  boat 
loaded  with  stone,  computed  to  weigh  fifteen  tons,  from 
the  lower  to  the  upper  level,  52  feet,  in  twelve  minutes. 
It  was  not  considered  complete  either  in  mechanism 
or  workmanship,  and  it  was  not  till  1857  that  the  present 
plane  was  adopted  there. 

The  canal  was  completed  from  Easton  to  Newark,  90 
miles,  iri  August  1831.  It  was  estimated  to  cost  $817,- 
000-^it  actually  cost  about  ^2,000,000.  The  canal  was 
adapted  to  boats  of  25  tons  only,  whicli  in  many  cases 
proved  too  heavy  for  the  chains  of  the  planes.  The  pas 
sage  from  Easton  to  Newark  was  said  to  have  been  per- 
formed in  less  than  five  days.  There  were  twelve  planes 
and  17  locks,  aggregating  an  elevation  of  914  feet,  the 
highest  planes  being  those  of  Drakesville  and  Boonton 
Falls,  which  were  each  80  feet.  The  continuation  of  the 
canal  to  Jersey  City  was  not  completed  until  1836.     To 


meet  the  payments  in  constrticting  the  canal  the  company 
borrowed  in  Holland  $750,000,  which  was  known  as  the 
"  Dutch  loan,"  and  secured  its  indebtedness  by  a  mort- 
gage on  the  canal.  This  mortgage  the  company  was  un- 
able to  pay,  and  a  sale  under  foreclosure  was  had,  by  which 
the  regular  stockholders  lost  their  stock,  the  unsecured 
creditors  their  debts,  and  the  State  of  Indiana,  which  held 
a  second  mortgage,  much  of  its  loan.  The  canal  was  bought 
in  by  Benjamin  AVilliamson,  Asa  Whitehead  and  John  J. 
Bryant,  October  21st  1844,  for  $1,000, coo.  The  pur- 
chasers reorganized  the  company  under  the  same  name, 
and  the  new  company  immediately  undertook  the  en- 
largement of  the  capacity  of  the  can:l,  which  has  been 
carried  on-  more  or  less  every  year  since.  While  in  its 
beginning  its  boats  carried  loads  of  25  or  30  tons,  they 
now  carry  loads  of  65  and  even  70  tons.  Its  tonnage 
(as  appears  by  the  reports  to  the  stockholder.s)  had  in- 
creased from  58,259  tons  in  1845,  when  only  open  part 
of  the  year,  and  109,505  in  1846,  to  707,572  in  1870. 
Its  receipts  for  tolls  and  other  sources  in  1845  were 
$18,997.45;  in  1846  $51,212.39;  in  1870  $391,549.76. 

On  the  4th  of  May  187 1  the  Morris  Canal  Company 
made  a  perpetual  lease  of  the  canal  and  works  to  the  Le- 
high Valley  Railroad  Company, — a  Pennsylvania  cor- 
poration, that  desired  it  as  an  outlet  to  tide  water.  This 
company  has  since  operated  and  treated  the  canal  as  its 
own. 

The  Morris  and  Essex  Railroad  Company  was  incor- 
porated by  the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey  January  29th 
1835,  the  incorporators  named  in  the  act  being  James 
Cook  and  William  N.  AVood,  of  Morristown,  William 
Brittin,  of  Madison,  Jeptha  B.  Munn,  of  Chatham,  Israel 
D.  Condict,  of  Milburn,  John  J.  Bryan  and  Isaac  Bald- 
win. The  capital  stock  was  fixed  at  $300,000,  with 
power  to  increase  it  to  $500,000,  and  the  professed  object 
of  the  company  was  to  build  a  railroad  from  one  or  more 
places  "  in  the  village  of  Morristown  "  to  intersect  the 
railroad  of  the  New  Jersey  Railroad  and  Transportation 
Company  at  Newark  or  Elizabethtown.  The  rate  for 
freight  was  limited  to  six  cents  per  ton  for  each  mile,  and 
for  passengers  at  six  cents  for  each  passenger  per  mile. 
A  provision  was  also  inserted  in  the  charter  that  the 
State  might  take  the  road  at  its  appraised  value  fifty 
years  after  its  completion.  The  next  year  the  company 
was  authorized  to  build  lateral  roads  to  Whippany,  Boon- 
ton,  Denville,  Rockaway  and  Dover,  and  to  increase  its 
stock  $250,000.  In  1838  the  company  was  allowed  to 
borrow  money  for  the  jnirposes  of  its  road,  and  in  1839 
to  increase  the  par  value  of  the  shares  from  $50  to  $75. 
Besides  those  named  in  the  act  of  incorporation  there 
were  prominent  and  active  in  forwarding  this  enterprise 
from  the  beginning  Hon.  Lewis  Condict,  of  Morristown, 
Jonathan  C.  Bonnel,  of  Chatham,  and  James  Vanderpool, 
of  Newark  (father  of  Beach  Vanderpool,  afterward  for 
so  many  years  treasurer  of  the  road).  The  difficulties  met 
with  in  building  the  road  were  numerous  and  formidable, 
and  were  only  overcome  by  enlisting  in  its  behalf  all  who 
lived  upon  its  proposed  route.  Changes  were  made  in 
its  location  to  gain  it  friends,  and  the  directors  exhausted 


70 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COtlNTV. 


every  effort  to  carry  the  work  to  a  successful  termination. 
They  frequently  pledged  their  individual  credit  to  supply 
the  necessary  funds.  The  engineer  was  Captain  Ephraira 
Beach,  who  had  been  the  engineer  of  the  Morris  Canal. 
The  track  was  at  first  the  "  strap  rail,"  consisting  of  a 
fiat  bar  of  iron  spiked  on  the  edge  of  timb&rs  running 
parallel  with  the  road  bed,  and  causing  occasional  acci- 
dents by  loose  ends  curling  under  the  wheels  and  some- 
times going  through  the  bottom  of  the  cars.  There  was 
at  the  outset  no  idea  of  its  ever  being  a  "  through  road  " 
across  the  State,  or  of  the  immense  traffic  of  the  present 
day  ever  passing  over  it.  The  engines  were  small  and 
two  sufficed  to  do  the  work.  The  depot  at  Morristown 
was  on  De  Hart  street,  the  railroad  approaching  it 
through  the  present  Maple  avenue — formerly  called  Rail- 
road avenue  and,  before  the  time  of  the  railroad,  Canfield 
street.  At  Newark  the  cars  were  hauled  from  the  depot 
on  Broad  street  through  Center  street  to  the  track  of  the 
New  Jersey  Railroad  at  tlie  Center  street  depot. 

The  business  done  by  the  new  road  was  not  sufficiently 
remunerative  to  pay  for  its  construction  or  to  induce 
capitalists  to  loan  the  company  money  as  it  needed,  and 
in  1842  the  road  with  its  franchises  was  sold,  chiefly  to 
pay  about  $50,000  or  $60,000  due  its  directors  for  money 
advanced  by  them.  The  sale  was  so  made,  however, 
that  all  the  original  stockholders  had  an  opportunity  to 
come  in  and  redeem  their  stock  (a  privilege  which  a  ma- 
jority availed  themselves  of)  and  all  the  debts  of  the 
company  were  paid. 

A  reorganization  followed,  and  the  new  company  at 
once  proceeded  to  relay  the  road  with  iron  rails  of  more 
modern  pattern,  and  to  make  other  and  greater  improve- 
cents.  In  1845  the  continuation  of  the  road  to  Dover, 
agreeably  to  the  supplement  of  the  charter  passed  in 
1836,  was  undertaken.  There  being  some  doubt  as  to 
the  power  of  the  company  to  build  the  road  after  the 
lapse  of  so  many  years,  an  act  of  the  Legislature  was 
obtained  in  1846  reaffirming  and  continuing  the  com- 
pany's priviliges  and  allowing  it  to  build  a  road  from 
Dover  to  Stanhope.  Work  was  at  once  begun,  and  in 
July  1848  the  road  was  completed  to  Dover,  an  event 
which  was  celebrated  by  a  grand  dinner  at  the  latter 
place.  To  get  beyond  Morristown  the  road  was  taken 
up  from  the  "Sneden  place,"  below  Governor  Randolph's 
to  De  Hart  street,  and  laid  anew  where  it  still  runs.  Con- 
templating to  run  from  Denville  directly  to  Dover,  the 
people  of  Rockaway  contracted  to  give  the  right  of  way 
from  Denville  to  "  Dell's  Bridge,"  where  the  switch  is 
now  between  Rockaway  and  Dover,  if  the  road  was  laid 
through  their  place,  which  agreement  was  fulfilled. 

Dover  was  the  end  of  the  route  for  a  year  or  two,  but 
in  1850  the  further  continuation  of  the  road  was  begun, 
and  in  1853  or  thereabouts  it  was  finished  to  Hacketts- 
town.  Here  the  work  rested  until  1861,  when  the  road 
was  completed  across  the  State  to  Phillipsburg. 

The  tedious  method  of  getting  through  Newark  to 
the  New  Jersey  Railroad  by  horse  power  was  submitted 
to  until  185 1,  when  the  company  was  authorized  to  con- 
tinue its  road  to   Hoboken.     In  did  not,  however,  do 


this  at  once,  but  made  an  arrangement  with  the  New 
Jersey  Railroad  to  run  a  branch  of  that  road  over  the 
Passaic  to  the  present  Morris  and  Essex  depot,  so  that 
trains  ran  by  steam  uninterruptedly  through  Newark  and 
so  on  to  the  New  Jersey  Railroad,  and  as  formerly  to 
to  Jersey  City.  It  was  not  until  1863  that  the  com- 
pany built  its  own  road  to  Hoboken,  getting  an  act 
passed  in  1864  to  enable  it  to  buy  the  Passaic  bridge, 
etc.,  of  the  New  Jersey  Railroad. 

In  1866  an  arrangement  was  made  to  lease  the  road  to 
the  Atlantic  and  Great  Western  Railroad  Company,  and 
it  was  the  intention  to  make  it  a  part  of  a  great  through 
route  to  the  west;  an  enterprise  which  entirely  failed, 
owing  to  the  failure  of  Sir  Morton  Peto  or  the  other 
parties  interested.  December  loth  1868  a  lease  was 
made  to  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Rail- 
road Company,  which  is  still  in  force.  By  it  the  lessees 
agree  to  operate  the  road,  making  it  a  part  of  their  own 
line  to  tide  water,  and  to  guarantee  the  payment  of  inter- 
est on  its  funded  debt  and  at  least  7  per  cent,  per  annum 
dividends  on  its  stock. 

Many  collateral  or  branch  roads  have  been  built  to  the 
main  line.  Shortly  after  the  continuation  to  Hacketts- 
town  the  Sussex  Railroad  was  built  from  Newton  to 
Waterloo,  hitherto  owned  and  managed  by  a  separate 
board  of  directors  and  kept  entirely  distinct  from  the 
main  line.  In  1864  the  people  of  Boonton  were  accom- 
modated with  a  branch  from  Denville  to  take  the  place 
of  the  stage  line  which  had  previously  been  their  means 
of  conveyance.  This  was  largely  through  the  influence 
of  J.  C,  Lord,  half  owner  of  the  Boonton  Works  and  a 
director  in  the  Morris  and  Essex.  The  Chester  Railroad 
was  constructed  in  1867,  mainly  through  the  efforts  of 
Major  Daniel  Budd,  by  the  Chester  Railroad  Compan)', 
an  organization  distinct  in  name  but  in  reality  an  ad- 
junct to  the  Morris  and  Essex  road.  Shortly  afterward 
the  Hibernia  Railroad,  which  was  built  during  the  war 
from  Hibernia  to  the  Morris  Canal  at  Rockaway  as  a 
horse  road,  was  extended  to  the  Morris  and  Essex  line 
and  made  a  steam  road.  It  is  a  separate  corporation  in 
every  respect,  the  Morris  and  Essex  not  owning  or  con- 
trolling its  stock.  The  Ferromonte  Railroad  is  a  spur  of 
the  Chester  road  built  in  1869  to  the  Dickerson  mine. 
The  Mount  Hope  Railroad,  from  Port  Oram  via  the 
Richards,  Allen  and  Teabo  mines  to  Mount  Hope,  was 
built  just  after  the  war,  to  carry  the  immense  ore  freights 
of  these  mines  along  its  route.  It  supplanted  in  use  a 
tram  railway  from  Mount  Hope  to  the  canal  at  Rocka- 
way. 

Since  the  Morris  and  Essex  has  been  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad 
Company  very  great  changes  have  been  made  in  it.  The 
Paterson  branch,  beginning  at  Dell's  Bridge  over  Mill 
Brook  between  Rockaway  and  Dover,  and  running 
thence  with  double  track  to  Denville,  where  it  crosses 
the  main  line,  thence  to  Boonton,  mostly  on  the  bed  of 
the  old  "Boonton  branch,"  and  so  by  way  of  Paterson  to 
the  tunnel;  the  new  Hoboken  tunnel,  and  the  double  track- 
ing of  the  old  road  its  whole  length  except  between  Mor- 


MINOR  RAILROADS— EARLY  CHURCHES. 


71 


ristown  and  Rockaway,  have  been  the  work  of  the  lessees. 
The  expense  of  these  improvements  and  additions  has 
been  charged  to  the  Morris  and  Essex  road,  so  that, 
while  its  stock  and  bonds  amounted  at  the  time  of  the 
lease  to  about  $12,000,000,  they  now  amount  to  about 
$36,000,000. 

Besides  the  Morris  and  Essex  Railroad  and  the 
branches  mentioned  in  connection  therewith,  there  are 
in  the  county  of  Morris  the  New  Jersey  Midland 
Railroad,  which  skirts  the  northern  edge  of  Pequannock, 
Jefferson  and  Rockaway  townships;  the  Greenwood 
Lake  Railroad,  which  crosses  Pompton  Plains;  the 
Green  Pond  Railroad,  which  is  a  branch  of  the  New 
Jersey  Midland  running  from  Charlotteburgh  to  the 
Copperas  mine;  the  High  Bridge  Railroad,  a  branch  of 
the  Central  of  New  Jersey,  running  from  High  Bridge 
through  German  Valley  and  McCainsville  to  Port  Oram, 
with  a  spur  to  Chester;  the  Dover  and  Rockaway  Rail- 
road, connecting  the  High  Bridge  Railroad  at  Port  Oram 
with  the  Hibernia  Railroad  at  Rockaway;  and  the  Ogden 
Mine  Railroad,  running  from  the  Ogden  and  Hurd  mines 
to  Lake  Hopatcong — all  built  since  the  last  war,  and 
which  properly  come  within  the  province  of  the  histories 
of  the  several  townships  in  which  they  lie. 


CHAPTER   Xn. 


RELIGIOUS    AND    EDUCATIONAL    INTERESTS. 


JN  1765  there  were  in  the  county,  according  to 
the  historian  Samuel  Smith,  fourteen  houses 
of  worship.  There  were  nine  erected  by  the 
Presbyterians — those  of  Hanover,  organized 
in  April  1818,  and  then  presided  over  by  Dr. 
Jacob  Green;  Mendham,  where  Rev.  Francis 
Peppard  preached;  Morristown,  organized  from 
Hanover  in  1738,  and  whose  pastor  was  the  celebrated 
Dr.  Timothy  Johnes,  who  began  his  ministry  in  1743 
and  who  maintained  his  connection  with  the  church  till 
his  death,  in  1798;  Madison,  where  Rev.  Azariah  Hor- 
ton  was  pastor;  Parsippany,  Rockaway  and  Chester,  at 
that  time  without  settled  pastors.  The  other  two  Pres- 
byterian churches  were  probably  at  Sucasunna  and  near 
Basking  Ridge.  The  Evangelical  Lutherans  at  German 
Valley  had  erected  a  church  there  in  1745.  The  Baptists 
had  built  a  church  at  Morristown  in  1752,  and  the  Con- 
gregationalists  a  church  at  Chester  in  1747.  The  Quaker 
meeting-house  about  a  mile  south  of  Dover,  erected  at 
that  time,  is  still  standing.  The  Rogerines,  a  peculiar, 
fanatical  sect,  had  at  that  time  an  organization,  most  of 
the  members  living  upon  Schoole>'s  Mountain.  It  be- 
came extinct  before  or  about  the  beginning  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  Not  till  1771  did  the  Dutch  Reformed 
church  of  Pompton  Plains  erect  an  edifice  on  the  Morris 
county  side  of  the  riven 


Under  the  leading  of  Dr.  Jacob  Green,  in  1780,  he 
with  three  other  ministers  withdrew  from  the  Presbytery 
of  New  York  and  formed  what  was  called  the  Presbytery 
of  Morris  county.  For  twelve  years  it  stood  alone;  but 
in  1792  the  Westchester  Presbytery  was  formed,  and  in 
1793  the  Northern  Presbytery,  and  the  name  "Associ- 
ated "  was  adopted.  They  were  properly  Congregational 
bodies,  not  holding  the  authority  of  synod  and  being 
Presbyterians  in  little  but  in  their  name.  One  of  the  first 
ministers  ordained  by  this  Morris  County  Presbytery  (in 
1783)  was  Joshua  Spalding,  said  by  Dr.  Johnson,  of  New- 
burgh,  to  have  been  the  means  of  converting  more  souls 
than  any  other  man  since  Whitefield's  day.  Rev.  Albert 
Brundage,  who  was  taken  under  care  of  the  presbytery 
in  1715,  was  one  of  the  last.  In  1830  the  Presbytery  of 
Westchester,  the  last  of  this  group  of  Associated  presby- 
teries, ceased  to  exist.  Their  history  has  been  only  par- 
tially preserved;  but  enough  remains  to  show  that  they 
were  instrumental  in  doing  a  great  amount  of  good  in  a 
region  which  required  a  class  of  ministers  who  were 
willing  to  endure  hardship,  and  whose  work  was  quite  as 
acceptable  although  their  education  had  been  not  of  the 
best.  These  men  were  ordained  by  these  Associated 
■presbyteries,  and  this  was  one  cause  of  their  separation 
from  the  synod. 

In  Alden's  "New  Jersey  Register"  of  1812  it  is  said 
that  the  churches  and  pastors  of  that  day  were  as  follows: 

Presbyterian — Black  River  or  Chester,  Rev.  Lemuel 
Fordham;  Hanover,  Rev.  Aaron  Condict;  Mendham, 
Rev.  Amzi  Armstrong;  Morristown,  Rev.  Samuel  Fisher- 
Rockaway,  Rev.  Barnabas  King;  Pleasant  Grove  and 
Hackettstown,  Rev.  Joseph  Campbell;  Boonlon  and 
Pompton,  vacant. 

Baptist — Morris  and  Randolph,  vacant. 

Methodist — Asbury  charge,  which  embraced  a  part  of 
this  county,  had  as  ministers  James  Moore,  Charles  Reed 
and  John  Van  Schaick. 

Congregational — Split  Rock  and  Newfoundland,  Rev. 
Jacob  Bostedo;  Chester  and  Schooley's  Mountain,  Rev. 
Stephen  Overton. 

The  Society  of  Friends  held  meetings  at  Mendham. 

The  history  of  these  various  churches  and  of  those 
which  were  afterward  organized  will  be  found  in  more  or 
less  detail  in  the  sketches  of  the  different  townships. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  all  the  churches  at  present  in 
the  county,  and  the  names  of  their  respective  pastors: 

Presbyterian — Morristown,  First  church,  Rev.  Rufus  S. 
Green  (now  resigned);  Morristown,  South  street. church. 
Rev.  Albert  Erdman,  D.  D.;  Chatham,  vacant;  Dover, 
Rev.  W.  W.  Holloway;  Boonton,  Rev.  Thomas  Carter; 
Madison,  Rev.  Robert  Aikman,  D.  D.;  Whippany,  Rev. 
David  M.  Bardwell;  New  Vernon,  Rev.  Nathaniel  Conk- 
lin;  Parsippany,  vacant;  Succasunna,  Rev.  Elijah  W. 
Stoddard,  D.  D.;  Chester,  Rev.  Jaines  F.  Brewster; 
Mendham,  First  church.  Rev.  I.  W.  Cochran;  Mendham, 
Second  church,  Rev.  James  M.  Huntting  jr.;  German 
Valley,  Rev.  E.  P.  Linnell;  Mt.  Freedom,  Rev.  W.  W. 
Holloway  sen.;  Flanders,  Rev.  Daniel  W.  Fox;  Hanover 
Rev.  James  A.  Ferguson;    Mt.  Olive,  Rev.  O.  H.  Perry 


72 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


Deyo;  Rockaway,  Rev.  Jaraes  O.  Averill;  Pleasant  Grove, 
Rev.  Burtis  C.  Megie,  D.  D. 

Methodist  Episcopal — Rev.  J.  H.  Knowles,  presiding 
elder;  Morristown,  Rev.  S.  L.Bowman,  D.  D.;  Rockaway, 
Rev.  E.  H.  Conklin;  Dover,  First  church,  Rev.  H.  D. 
Opdyke;  Dover,  Second  church,  Rev.  William  H.  Mc- 
Cormick;  Dover,  free  church.  Rev.  Mr.  Tamblyn; 
Walnut  Grove  and  Mill  Brook,  Rev.  C.  L.  Banghart; 
Port  Oram  and  Teabo,  Rev.  J.  B.  McCauIey;  Mount 
Hope,  Rev.  C.  W.  McCormick;  Succasunna,  Rev.  J. 
Thomas;  Flanders  and  Drakestown,  Rev.  D.  E.  Frambes; 
Mendham,  Rev.  J.  R.  Wright;  Hibernia,  Rev.  G.  T. 
Jackson;  Denville  and  Rockaway  Valley,  Rev.  W.  Cham- 
berlain; Boonton,  Rev.  J.  A.  Kingsbury;  Parsippany  snd 
Whippany,  Rev.  John  Faull;  Madison,  Rev.  W.  I.  Gill. 
Protestant  Episcopal — St.  Peter's,  Morristown,  Rev. 
Robert  N.  Merritt;  Church  of  the  Redeem.er,  Morris- 
town,  Rev.  George  H.  Chadwell;  St.  John's,  Dover, 
Rev.  David  D.  Bishop;  St.  John's,  Boonton,  Rev.  John 
P.  Appleton;  Grace,  Madison,  Rev.  Robert  C.  Rogers; 
St.  Mark's,  Mendham,  Rev.  Levi  Johnston. 

Roman  Catholic — Church  of  the  Assumption,  Morris- 
town,  Rev.  Joseph  M.  Flynn;  St.  Vincent's,  Madison, 
Rt.  Rev.  W.  M.  Wigger,  D.  D.,  Rlv.  Joseph  Rolando; 
Our  Lady  of  Mt.  Carmel,  Boonton,  Rev.  Patrick  F. 
Downes;  St.  Mary's,  Dover,  Rev.  James  Hanly;  St. 
Joseph's,  Mendham,  Rev.  James  P.  Poels;  St.  Elizabeth's 
Convent,  Madison,  Rev.  Dennis  McCartie;  St.  Cecilia's, 
Rockaway,  Rev.  Father  Kennealy;  St.  Bernard's,  Mt. 
Hope,  Patrick  A.  McGahon. 

Baptist — Morristown,  Rev.  Addison  Parker;  Drakes- 
town,  no  pastor;  Millington,  Rev.  Peter  Sibb;  Schooley's 
Mountain,  Rev.  M.  M.  Fogg. 

Reformed — Boonton,  Rev.  O.  H.  Walser;  Montville, 
Rev.  James  Kemlo;  Pompton  Plains,  Rev.  J.  H.  White- 
head. 

Congregational — Chester,  Rev.  Frank  A.  Johnson; 
Stanley,  Rev.  Rollin  G,  Stone;  Morristown,  Rev.  Mr. 
Pan  n  ell. 

Lutheran — German  Valley,  vacant. 
African  Methodist  Episcopal —  Morristown,  Rev.  A.  H. 
Newton. 

The  Morris  County  Sabbath-School  Association  was 
organized  about  twenty  years  ago,  and  held  its  nineteenth 
annual  meeting  at  Rockaway  on  October  5th  1881. 
The  following  are  its  officers;  President,  Hon.  Nathan- 
iel Niles,  Madison;  vice-presidents.  Rev.  T.  H.  Landon, 
Succasunna;  Hon.  A.  M.  Treadwcll,  Madison;  Rev.  F.  A. 
Johnson,  Chester;  Robert  N.  Cornish,  Esq.,  Gillette; 
Rev.  R.  S.  Green,  Morristown;  Rev.  J.  H.  Whitehead, 
Pompton  Plains;  Rev.  A.  Hiller,  German  Valley.  Sec- 
retary and  treasurer,  George  E.  Righter,  Parsippany. 
Recording  secretary,  George  W.  Howell,  Littleton.  Town- 
ship secretaries — Boonton,  George  D.  Meeker,  Boonton; 
Chatham,  F.  A.  Bruen,  Madison;  Chester,  P.  J.  Crater, 
Chester;  Hanover,  Joseph  D.  Doty,  Littleton;  Jefferson, 
J.  S.  Buck,  Woodport;  Mendham,  Rev.  I.  W.  Cochran, 
Mendham;  Montville,  Richard  Duryea,  Boonton;  Morris, 
Walter   A.    Searing,    Morristown;    Mount   Olive,    D.  A. 


Nicholas,  Flanders;  Passaic,  John  S.  Tunis,  New  Vernon; 
Pequannock,  John  F.  Post,  Pompton;  Randolph,  D.  S. 
Allen,  Dover;  Rockaway,  E.  P.  Beach,  Rockaway;  Rox- 
bury,  L.  F.  Corwin,  Succasunna;  Washington,  Rev.  E.  P. 
Linnell,  German  Valley.  The  executive  committee  con- 
sists of  the  above  named  officers  and  township  secretaries, 
the  county  secretary  being  chairman. 

The  repoits  of  the  township  secretaries  for  the  year 
1880  are  summarized  as  follows.  All  but  seven  of  the 
schools  are  held  throughout  the  year. 


Township. 


Bonntoii 

Uhiitliiiiii 

CliuPtiir 

Hiuiiiver 

Jefferson 

Mendham 

Montville ... 

Morris 

Mount  Olive 

Passaic 

Pequannock, 
liandulpb  — 
Koolcaway... 

Koxbuvy 

Washington., 


& 

u 

It 

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1 

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C 
C  i 

s 

ii.Oi- 

Si- 

OO) 

a  CO 

0  c 

c 

.0 

nS 

•^ 

0  = 
> 

a; 

a 
3 

£  2 

•z.-;:. 

< 

<! 

'^ 

z; 

4 

m 

50 

395 

115 

8 

11 

lit 

110 

0.22 

177 

7 

8 

f)i 

52 

300 

149 

ii 

n 

78 

12G 

402 

130 

20 

8 

41 

52 

273 

44 

1 

8 

57 

O'i 

281 

79 

8 

h 

44 

55 

234 

74 

11 

201) 

222 

1,008 

378 

22 

1 

48 

54 

2.59 

02 

G 

0 

58 

04 

303 

47 

6 

4 

31 

43 

178 

00 

2 

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142 

130 

893 

300 

94 

13 

132 

13!l 

747 

298 

7 

6 

00 

00 

;i38 

74 

8 

8 

72 

TO 
1305 

390 

110 

2.097 

17 

127 

1.193 

0,023 

209 

lg 

To 

g  c  a 
o=:o 


?13fl0 
14.50 

7  00 
14.50 

5  50 

5  00 
24  00 

7  CO 

8  50 
2  75 

1125 

18  30 

4  00 

14  91 


EDUCATION. 

In  every  neighborhood  in  the  county  there  is  evidence 
of  private  schools  having  been  established  at  the  same 
time  that  churches  were  organized;  and  two  high  schools 
were  established  in  Morristown  before  1800.  An  account 
of  these  schools  and  of  the  progress  in  education  in  each 
township  must  be  looked  for  in  the  local  histories.  A 
few  words  will  suffice  for  such  matters  as  pertain  to  the 
county  at  large. 

On  the  29th  of  October  1799  tliere  was  a  meeting  of 
the  citizens  of  the  county  at  the  hotel  of  George  O'Hara, 
in  Morristown,  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  up  a  petition 
or  adopting  some  means  to  solicit  of  tlie  Legislature  then 
in  session  "the  all  important  object,  the  establishment 
of  public  schools  by  law  through  the  State." 

In  1817  an  act  was  passed  creating  a  fund  for  the  sup- 
port of  public  schools,  which  act  was  modified  by  subse- 
quent enactments  during  the  next  ten  years.  The  friends 
of  education  held  a  public  meeting  at  the  Slate-house  in 
Trenton  November  nth  1828,  which  directed  the  appoint- 
ment of  committees  to  thoroughly  examine  the  public 
schools  of  this  State.  Charles  Ewing,  John  N.  Simpson 
and  Theodore  Frelinghuysen  formed  the  central  commit- 
tee, and  made  an  elaborate  and  extensive  report  of  the 
result  of  their  investigations.  Of  Morris  county  the 
committee  reported: 

"  The  committee  have  received  an  interesting  report  of 
the  state  of  education  in  this  county,  from  its  active  and 
zealous  central  committee.  This  report  is  complete  as 
regards  Morris,  Hanover,  Chatham,  Jefferson,  Roxbury, 
Washington,  Chester  and  Mendham;  deficient  as  it  re- 
spects Randolph,  and  partial  with  regard  to  Pequannock 
townships.     It  is  probable  that  this  county  more  richly 


SCHOOLS— POLITICAL  PARTIES. 


73 


enjoys  the  advantages  and  blessings  of  education  tlian 
any  other  in  the  State.  Sixty-nhie  schools  and  2,411 
scholars  are  reported,  and  making  a  probable  estimate 
for  the  parts  not  reported  there  are  about  82  schools  and 
2,800  scholars  in  the  co.unty.  Many  of  these  schools  are 
kept  up  during  the  winter  only.  Female  teachers  are  in 
many  places  employed  to  instruct  small  children  in  Ihe 
summer.  The  price  of  tuition  varies  from  $1.50  to  $2 
per  quarter.  Reading,  writing  and  arithmetic  are  taught 
in  the  common  schools;  the  languages  and  the  higher 
branches  of  English  education  are  taught  in  several 
academies,  which  are  included  in  the  above  number. 
The  character  of  the  teachers  is  generally  good.  *  * 
*  Their  qualifications  are  in  too  many  instances  not  so 
good  as  might  be  wished,  but  it  is  not  often  that  they  are 
grossly  deficient." 

"With  respect  to  the  number  of  children  not  educated, 
the  committee  are  not  able  to  state  anything  definite.  In 
some  townships  there  are  said  to  be  very  few  who  are 
not  sent  to  school  a  part  of  the  year;  in  one  about  30 
are  mentioned  who  are  destitute  of  instruction,  in  another 
120,  many  of  whose  parents  are  not  able  to  give  them 
such  an  education  as  would  be  proper  in  their  station  in 
life.  A  neighborhood  in  one  of  the  townships,  having 
about  25  children,  is  represented  as  destitute.  In  another 
township  nearly  150  were  ascertained  who  were  not  at- 
tending schools.  The  population  of  this  county  was 
21,368  at  the  last  census.  If  we  allow  that  one-fifth  of 
this  population  ought  to  go  to  school  at  least  a  part  of 
the  year  (in  New  York  it  is  estimated  that  one-fourth  of 
the  whole  population  go  to  school  a  part  of  the  year], 
then  there  ought  to  be  more  than  4,000  scholars  instead 
of  2.800  above  mentioned.  The  committee  feel  inclined 
to  believe  that  tliey  do  not  exceed  the  boundaries  of 
probabih'ty  when  they  estimate  that  there  are  at  least  600 
children  in  the  county  destitute  of  adequate  means  and 
opportunities  of  receiving  any  valuable  amount  of  edu- 
cation." 

As  a  result  of  this  movement  the  first  general  common 
school  act  was  passed,  February  24th  1829,  directing  the 
trustees  of  the  school  fund  to  make  appropriations  among 
the  several  counties  and  ordering  a  division  of  the  town- 
ships into  districts  and  the  appointment  of  three  trustees 
in  each  district. 

This  law  was  altered  and  amended  from  time  to  time, 
and  education  in  each  township  was  left  almost  entirely 
to  the  people  of  that  township  until,  in  1867,  the  act  pro- 
viding for  a  general  system  of  public  instruction  was 
passed.  Under  this  act  county  superintendents  were  ap- 
pointed, with  a  State  board  of  education,  and  a  more 
uniform  system  and  practice  were  adopted.  This  law, 
modified  by  subsequent  enactments,  is  still  in  force.  Un- 
der it  the  first  county  superintendent  for  this  county  was 
Robert  De  Hart.  He  was  succeeded  by  Remus  Robin- 
son, and  he  by  John  R.  Runyon.  His  successor  was 
Lewis  G.  Thurber,  who  was  appointed  in  1875  and  is 
the  present  incumbent.  Mr.  Thurber  furnishes  us  the 
following  statistics. of  the  public  schools  for  the  year: 

Number  of  school-houses  owned,  no,  rented,  2,  total 
IJ2:  number  of  school  rooms,  155;  children  from  5  to 
t8,  inclusive,  14,120;  value  of  school  property,  1224,900; 
amount  of  money  appropriated  for  schools  for  the  year 
beginning  September  ist,  1881,  $61,368.44;  amount  of  dis- 
trict tax  in  1881,  $22,484.40;  total  amount  appropriated 
and  raised  by  tax,  $83,852.84. 


CHAPTER  XIIL 


POLITICAL    PARTIES    AND    CANDIDATES — OFFICERS    AND 
REPRESENTATIVES. 


HEN  the  Federal  party  lost  its  influence  in 
the  nation  through  the  unpopular  measures 
of  the  Adams  administration,  Morris  coun- 
ty went  with  the  current.  In  1798  Abraham 
Kitchel  was  elected  to  the  Council  on  the 
Republican  ticket  over  Mark  Thompson,  the 
Federal  candidate,  by  a  vote  of  r,7S4  to  302,  and 
the  parties  maintained  about  the  same  relative  strength 
for  a  number  of  years.  In  1808,  on  the  Congressional 
ticket,  the  Republicans  polled  2,412  votes  and  the  Fed- 
eralists 487.  In  1820  there  was  no  Federal  ticket  in  the 
field.  Jesse  Upson  was  elected  to  the  Council  without 
opposition,  and  the  candidates  for  Assembly  were  all 
Republicans.  What  was  called  the  "farmers'  ticket"  for 
Assembly  succeeded,  and  the  "convention  ticket"  for 
Congress  was  elected. 

When  the  contest  arose  between  Jackson  and  Clay 
and  the  Republican  party  divided,  Morris  county  at  first 
sided  against  Jackson;  but  in  the  Congressional  election 
of  January  1831,  when  the  State  went  "  Republican  "  by 
r,ooo  majority,  the  county  gave  the  Jackson  candidate 
40  majority.  The  Jackson  townships  were  Morris, 
Washington,  Roxbury,  Jefferson,  Randolph  and  Chester. 
The  townships  of  Chatham,^  Hanover,  Pequannock  and 
Mendham  were  anti-Jackson.  In  the  fifty  years  which 
have  since  elapsed  the  political  complexion  of  these 
townships  has  changed  but  little.  The  strength  of  the 
Democratic  party  has  been  as  a  general  thing  in  the 
townships  which  voted  for  Jackson  in  1831,  and  the 
Whig  and.  afterward  the  Republican  party  have  been 
strongest  in  the  others.  In  1832,  when  the  State  gave 
374  Jackson  majority,  Morris  county  gave  131.  The  fol- 
lowing was  the  vote  (N.  R.  represents  National  Repub- 
lican; Jackson  is  designated  by  J.):  Mendham — N.  R. 
171,  J.  70;  Jefferson — N.  R.  78,  J.  170;  Hanover — N.  R. 
409,  J.  216;  Morris — N.  R.  255,  J.  303;  Pequannock — 
N.  R.  478,  J.  209;  Roxbury — N.  R.  106,  J.  221;  Chester 
— N.  R.  63,  J.  183;  Randolph— N.  R.  98,  J.  141;  Chat- 
ham— N.  R.  174,  J.  104;  Washington — N.  R.  114,  J.  191; 
total — N.  R.  1,947,  J.  1,811.  Four  years  afterward  the 
county  gave  170  Whig  majority. 

In.the  "hard  cider"  campaign  of  1840  the  county  went 
strong  for  Harrison.  The  townships  in  his  favor  gave 
the  following  majorities:  Mendham  64,  Chatham  131, 
Morris  118,  Hanover  155,  Pequannock  327 — total  795. 
For  Van  Buren  Chester  gave  74,  Randolph  42,  Jefferson 
77,  Roxbury  155  and  Washington  83— total  43T  majority. 
When  Clay  ran  against  Polk  in  1844  the  county  voted 
for  Clay.  The  Whig  majorities  were:  In  Mendham  loi, 
Chatham  no,  Morris  53,  Hanover  203,  Pequannock  298, 
Randolph  3  and  Rockaway  96— total  865.     The  Demo- 


74 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


cratic  majorities  were:  In  Chester  97,  Jefferson  67, 
Washington  72  and  Roxbury  187— total  433.  In  the 
presidential  campaign  of  1848  the  county  gave  2,889 
votes  for  the  Taylor  electors,  and  2,425  for  his  opponent. 

In  1852  the  Pierce  electors  received  2,800  votes  in  the 
county  and  the  Scott  electors  2,548.  George  Vail  for 
Congress  received  2,822,  and  William  A.  Coursen,  the 
Whig  candidate,  2,515. 

In  1856  the  Buchanan  electors  received  3,008  votes, 
Fillmore  696  and  Fremont  2,309.  William  Alexander 
(Democratic)  received  3,062,  and  William  A.  Newell  (A. 
and  R.)  2,961;  George  T.  Cobb  (Democratic)  was 
elected  senator  by  184  majority. 

In  i860,  it  will  be  remembered,  there  were  four  elect- 
oral tickets  in  the  field.  The  Republicans  had  seven 
electors,  who  received  3,484  votes.  There  were  four 
Democratic  electors  who  were  supported  by  all  those 
opposed  to  the  Republican  ticket  and  who  voted  a  fus- 
ion ticket,  who  received  3,304  votes.  The  three  "straight 
Democratic"  electors  not  on  the  fusion  ticket  received 
585  votes,  and  the  fusion  electors  supported  only  by  the 
fusionists  received  2,735  votes.  Edsall  (Republican)  for 
Congress  received  3,480  votes  against  3,315  for  George 
T.  Cobb  (Democratic).  The  latter  was,  however,  elected 
by  the  vote  of  the  remainder  of  the  district. 

During  the  war  the  county  almost  always  was  Dem- 
ocratic. In  1862  Governor  Joel  Parker  received  3,359 
votes,  and  Marcus  L.  Ward  2,938.  In  1863  William 
McCarty  (Democratic)  received  3,179  votes  for  clerk, 
against  2,742  for  his  antagonist,  Richard  Speer.  In  1864 
the  McCIellan  electors  received  3,587  votes  and  the 
Lincoln  electors  3,222. 

In  1865  Marcus  L.  Ward,  Republican  candidate  for 
governor,  received  3,702,  and  Theodore  Runyon  (Dem- 
ocratic) 3,506;  George  T.  Cobb  (Republican)  was  elected 
senator  over  Milliard  by  243  majority. 

In  1866  Hon.  John  Hill  ran  against  Andrew  Jackson 
Rogers  for  Congress,  and  was  elected,  Morris  county 
giving  him  652  majority. 

In  1867  the  only  officers  running  through  the  county 
besides  the  coroners  were  the  candidates  for  sheriff.  The 
Democrats  elected  their  men — James  W.  Briant  sheriff 
by  430  majority,  and  James  W.  Ballentine  surrogate  by 
548  majority. 

In  the  presidential  election  of  1868  the  Grant  electors 
received  4,283  votes  and  the  Seymour  electors  3,974. 
John  I.  Blair  (Republican)  received  141  majority  for 
governor,  Hill  355  majority  for  Congress  over  Rafferty, 
and  George  T.Cobb  was  elected  senator  by  425  majority. 

In  1870  there  was  an  election  for  State  senator  to  till 
the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  George  T.  Cobb.  Dr. 
Columbus  Beach  was  elected,  receiving  4,844  votes,  and 
his  antagonist,  j.  W.  Searing,  3,751.  John  Hiil  for  Con- 
gress beat  Rafferty  in  the  county  by  1,355  majority. 

In  187 1  there  were  dissensions  in  the  Republican 
party — the  party  dividing  into  the  two  factions  of 
"  Heavy  Weights  "  and  "  Light  Weights  " — and  the  Dem- 
ocrats carried  the  county.  Walsh,  the  Republican  candi- 
date for  Congress,  carried  the  county  by  38  majority, 


while  Cutler  (Democratic)  was  elected  State  senator  by 
530  majority. 

In  1872  Grant  carried  the  county  against  Greeley  by 
1,387  majority;  Phelps  for  Congress  beat  Woodruff  by 
1,336  majority,  but  Charles  A.  Gillen  (Democratic)  was 
elected  surrogate  by  334  majority. 

In  1873  the  only  county  officers  running  besides  the 
coroners  were  the  candidates  for  sheriff  and  clerk.  Hoff- 
man (Dem.)  for  sheriff  received  3,444  votes,  and  Phoenix 
(Rep.)  2,997;  McCarty  (Dem.)  for  clerk  3,523,  and 
Nicholas  (Rep.)  2,905. 

In  1874  George  A.  Halsey  (Rep.)  received  4,571  votes 
for  governor,  and  Judge  Bedle  (Dem.)  received  4,505. 
At  the  same  timeHon.  Augustus  W.  Cutler  had  40  majority 
in  the  county  over  W.  Walter  Phelps,  the  Republican 
candidate  for  Congress,  and  John  Hill  (Rep.)  was  elected 
State  senator. 

In  1875  there  was  no  senator  or  congressman  to  elect, 
and  Pierson  A.  Freeman  (Rep.)  was  elected  sheriff  by  a 
vote  of  3,710  against  3,225  for  Charles  A.  Harden  (Dem.) 

In  1876  President  Hayes  received  64  majority  in  the 
county;  but  Augustus  W.  Cutler  carried  it  for  Congress 
by  a  majority  of  115. 

In  1877  the  Democrats  carried  the  county  for  Gov- 
ernor McCIellan  by  342  majority,  and  for  Canfield,  State 
senator,  by  412. 

In  1878  the  tide  was  reversed,  Voorhees  (Rep.)  for 
Congress  carrying  the  county  by  693  majority. 

In  1879  there  were  no  county  officers  voted  for.  Of 
the  assemblymen  two  Republicans  and  one  Democrat 
were  elected,  as  has  been  the  case  for  the  past  ten  years 
and  more. 

In  1880  there  was  a  very  active  campaign,  there  being 
a  president,  governor,  congressman  and  State  senator  to 
elect.  Garfield  received  682  majority;  Potts  for  gov- 
ernor, 693  majority;  Hill  for  Congress,  593  majority, 
and  Youngblood  for  State  senator,  551  majority — all 
Republicans. 

This  is  the  proper  point  at  which  to  introduce  lists  of 
the  officers  of  the  county  and  its  representatives  in  State 
and  national  legislative  bodies.  They  are  as  follows 
with  the  year  of  appointment  or  election: 

Sheriffs. — Prior  to  the  Revolution  sheriffs  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  governor  and  held  their  office  during  his 
pleasure.  The  appointments,  so  far  as  they  can  now  be 
ascertained,  were  as  follows: 

Thomas  Clark,  1739;  Elijah  Gillett,  1744;  Caleb 
Fairchild  (filed  bond),  1748;  John  Kinney,  1749;  John 
Ford,  1752;  Daniel  Cooper  jr.,  removed  April  1761; 
Samuel  Tuthill,  wV^  Cooper,  1761;  Daniel  Cooper  jr., 
1767;  Jonathan  Stiles  (in  office),  177 1;  Thomas  Kinney, 
1773;  Thomas  Millage,  1776.  (The  constitution  adopted 
July  2nd  1776  provided  for  an  annual  election  of  sheriffs 
and  coroners,  but  they  were  to  be  ineligible  for  re-election 
after  three  years;  the  following  each  served  one  or  more 
series  of  three  years,  beginning  with  the  year  given.) 
Alexander  Carmichael,  1776;  Richard  Johnson,  1779; 
Jacob  Arnold,  1780,  1786;  William  Leddel,  1783;  Pruderi 
Ailing,  1789;  John  Cobb,  1792;  Hiram  Smith,  1794; 
William  Campfield,  1796;  Israel  Canfield,  1799;  Lewis 
Condict,    1801;     Edward    Condict,    1804;     David   Car- 


COUNTY  OFFICERS. 


75 


michael,  1807;  David  Mills,  18 10;  Samuel  Halliday, 
1813;  David  Mills,  1816,  Jacob  Wilson,  1819,  1825; 
Elijah  Ward,  1822;  Joseph  M.  Lindsley,  1827;  Elijah 
Ward,  1828;  George  H.  Ludlow,  183 1;  Colin  Robertson, 
1834;  Benjamin  McCoury,  1837;  Jeremiah  M.  De  Camp, 
1840;  Thomas  L.  King,  1843;  Henry  D.  Farrand,  1846; 
Abraham  Tapi)en,  1849;  William  W.  Fairchild,  1852; 
William  H.  Anderson,  1855;  Samuel  Vanness,  1858; 
Garrett  De  Mott,  1861;  Joseph  W.  Coe,  1864;  James  W. 
Briant,  1867;  James  Vanderveer,  1870;  Jesse  Hoffman, 
1873  (under  the  amended  constitution  sheriffs  were 
elected  after  1874  for  three  years);  Pierson  A.  Freeman, 
1875;  William  H.  McDavit,  1878;  William  H.  Howell, 
1881. 

County  Clerks. — Samuel  Governeur  appears  by  the 
minutes  to  have  been  clerk  from  the  formation  of  the 
county,  in  1739,  to  1765.  He  was  appointed  clerk  of 
Morris  county  by  Governor  Hardy  February  2nd  1762, 
to  serve  during  good  behavior.  Augustus  Moore  was 
deputy  clerk  "in  1765  and  to  September  1766.  Samuel 
Tuthill  was  clerk  from  September  1766  to  October  1776. 
After  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  in  1776  the  county 
clerks  were  appointed  by  joint  meeting  in  the  years  men- 
tioned below: 

Silas  Condict,  1776,  1781;  Joseph  Lewis,  1782;  Caleb 
Russel,  1787,  1792,  1797,  1802;  John  McCarter,  1805; 
Edward  Condict,  1808;  Robert  McCarter,  1813;  Robert 
H.  McCarter,  1818;  Zephaniah  Drake,  1823;  David  Day, 
1828;  Joseph  Dalrymple,  1833;  David  B.  Hurd,  1838; 
George  H.  Ludlow,  1843. 

The  constitution  of  1844  provided  for  the  election  of 
the  county  clerks  by  the  people  every  five  years.  Clerks 
were  so  elected  as  follows: 

Albert  Stanburrough,  1848,  1853;  Samuel  Swayze, 
1858;  William  McCarty,  1863;  Richard  Speer,  1868; 
William  McCarty,  1873;  Melvin  S.  Condit,  1878. 

Surrogates. — Prior  to  1784  surrogates  were  appointed 
by  the  governor  acting  as  surrogate  general,  who  named 
as  many  for  the  office  as  he  saw  fit,  they  being  really  his 
clerks.  The  appointments  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained 
were  as  follows:  Uzal  Ogden,  surrogate  of  Morris  and 
Essex,  1746;  Jeremiah  Condy  Russell,  Morris  and  Essex, 
1753;  Richard  Kemble  and  Abraham    Ogden,  surrogates 

of  Morris  county,    1768;  Joseph   Lewis, to    1785. 

By  an  act  approved  December  i6th  1784  it  was  directed 
that  the  ordinary  should  appoint  but  one  deputy  or  sur- 
rogate in  each  county.  Under  this  act  Jabez  Canipfield 
served  from  1785  to  1803;  John  McCarter  1803  to  1807; 
David  Thompson  1807  to  1822.  November  28th  1822  an 
act  was  passed  directing  that  the  surrogates  should  be 
elected  in  joint  meeting,  and  should  hold  their  office  for 
five  years.  Under  this  act  there  were  appointed:  David 
Thompson  jr.,  1822  (resigned  November  9th  1826); 
James  C.  Canfield,  1826;  Jacob  Wilson,  1827;  William 
N.  Wood,  1833,  1838,  1843.  The  constitution  of  1844 
provided  for  an  election  of  surrogates  by  the  people,  to 
hold  their  office  for  five  years.  They  have  been  elected 
as  follows:  Jeremiah  M.  De  Camp,  1847;  Frederick 
Dellicker,  1852,  1857;  Joseph  W.  Ballantine,  1862,  1867; 
Edwin  E.  Willis,  1872;  Charles  A.  Gillen,  1877. 

Prosecutors  of  the  Pleas.— Btiore  1824  the  attorney 
general  appears  to  have  acted  for  the  State,   and  in  his 


absence  the  court  appointed  some  lawyer  of  the  county 
to  act  temporarily  for  him.  After  1824  they  were  ap- 
pointed as  follows: 

George  K.  Drake,  Dec.  20  1824  and  Dec,  7  1825; 
Jacob  W.  Miller,  Dec.  27  1826;  Henry  A.  Ford,  March 
14  1832;  James  A.  Scofield,  Oct.  27  1837,  Oct.  28  1842 
and  Feb.  4  1847;  Vancleve  Dalrymple,  March  12  1852; 
Augustus  W.  Cutler,  March  17  1857;  Henry  C.  Pitney, 
Feb.  6  1862;  Alfred  Mills,  Feb.  6  1867;  Frederick  A. 
De  Mott,  Feb.  6  1872  and  Feb.  21  1877;  George  W.  For- 
syth, Jan.  27  1880. 

County  Judges. — Prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  consti- 
tution of  1776  justices  of  the  peace  were  appointed  by 
the  governor  and  acted  also  as  county  judges,  a  commis- 
sion being  issued  to  them  or  some  of  them  from  time  to 
time  to  hold  courts  of  oyer  and  terminer.  They  held 
office  during  life  or  until  superseded.  From  the  record 
of  their  appointment  or  of  their  acting  as  judges  we  get 
the  following  list: 

March  25  1740,  John  Budd,  Jacob  Ford,  Abraham 
Kitchel,  John  Lindley  jr.,  Timothy  Tuttle,  Samuel  Swe- 
sey;  Sept.  16  1740,  Gershom  Mott,  Daniel  Cooper,  Isaac 
Vandine,  Ephriam  Price,  Abraham  Vanacken;  Sept.  20 
1743,  John  Anderson,  Henry  Stewart,  David  Luce; 
March  26  1745,  James  Stewart;  March  24  1747,  Abra- 
ham Van  Campen;  April  28  1749,  Ebenezer  Byram, 
Robert  Gould,  Benjamin  Hathaway,  John  Pettet,  Jo- 
seph Kitchel,  William  Henry;  Sept.  17  1751,  Samuel 
Smith;  March  26  1754,  Joseph  Tuttle,  Robert  Goble; 
Dec.  21  1756,  Joseph  Hynds;  March  11  1760,  Samuel 
Tuthill,  Lemuel  Bowers,  Thomas  Day,  John  Carle,  Jo- 
seph Beach,  Israel  Younglove;  March  8  1763,  Benjamin 
Day;  Sept.  25  1764,  Josiah  Broadwell. 

The  commission  issued  April  30  1768  seems  to  include 
all  the  above  who  were  still  acting,  and  was  as  follows: 

Joseph  Tuttle,  Daniel  Cooper  (superseded  Aug.  18 
1774),  Robert  Goble,  Samuel  Tuthill,  Robert  Gould,  Jo- 
seph Kitchel,  Jacob  Ford,  David  Luce,  Samuel  Bowers, 
John  Carle  jr.,  Benjamin  Day,  Josiah  Broadwell,  Sam- 
uel Wells;  Benjamin  Cooper  (superseded  Jan.  22  1774), 
William  Kelly,  Samuel  Grandine,  Moses  Tuttle,  Jacob 
Ford,  jr.;  Aug.  26  1768,  Peter  Kemble,  Lord  Stirling; 
March  29  1770,  David  Thompson,  Samuel  Ogden;  Feb. 
15  i77r.  Constant  King;  March  24  1773,  Robert  Ers- 
kine,  John  Jacob  Faesch,  Henry  Mandeville;  March  19 
1774,  Johathan  Stiles;  March  18  1775,  Philip  Van  Cort- 
land; April  28  1775,  Abraham  Ogden;  May  31  1775, 
Thomas  Eckley,  Thomas  Millige;  July  27  1775,  Daniel 
Cooper  jr. 

Under  the  constitution  of  1776  the  county  judges  were 
to  be  appointed  in  joint  meeting  and  to  hold  their  offices 
for  five  years.  In  1844  the  number  for  each  county  was 
restricted  to  five,  and  in  1855  to  three.  The  following 
are  the  appointments  after  1776: 

Jacob  Ford,  1776;  Samuel  Tuthill,  1776,  1788,  1793, 
1798;  Joseph  Kitchell,  1776;  John  Carle,  1776,  1781, 
1786,  1791;  David  Thomjjson,  1776,  1779,  1789,  1794, 
1796,  1797;  Benjamin  Halsey,  1776,  1781  (resigned  in 
1785);  Samuel  Roberts,  1777;  Jonathan  Stiles,  1782; 
Abraham  Kitchel,  1782,  1797,  1803;  William  WoodhuU, 
1782,  1788,  1793,  1798,  1803,  1808,  1813,  1818;  Silas 
Condict,  1785,  1790,  1799;  Aaron  Kitchel,  1785;  John 
Jacob  Faesch,  1786,  1791,  1796;  Ellis  Cook,  1793,  1795; 
John  Doughty,  1795,  1800,  1805,  1812;  David  Welsh, 
1798,  1801,  1804,  1809,  1814,  1819;  Robert  Colfax,  1799, 
1812,  1818,  1822;    Joseph    Lewis,  1800;    Hiram    Smith, 


11 


76 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


1800;  John  Cobb,  1803;  Benjamin  Ludlow,  1803;  Jon- 
athan Ogden,  1805,  1812;    Silas  Cook,  1806,  1812,  1817, 

1821,  1826,  1833,  1838,  1843;  Cornelius  Voorhees,  1807; 
Edward  Condict,  1807,  1824,  1829,  1834,  1839;  William 
Munro,  1808,  1813,  1818,  1822,  1824,  1829,  1831,  1836, 
JesseUpson,  1808,  1813,  1818,  1823,1828;  Benjamin  Smith, 
1808,  1813,  1818,  1820;  Mahlon  Dickerson,  1811;  Eb- 
enezer  Coe,  1812;  Benjamin  Pierson,  1812;  Israel  Can- 
field,  1812;  John  G.  Cooper,  1812,  1817,  1822;  Eb- 
enezer   H.  Pierson,  1813;    Joseph    Jackson,  1813,  1818, 

1822,  1827,  1829,  1831,  1836,  1841;  Henry  W. 
Phillips,  1813;  Lemuel  Cobb,  1813,  1822,  1827;  Lot 
Dixon,  181 5;  Lewis  Condict,  i8r8;  Joseph  Hedges, 
1820;  William  B.  Patterson,  1820;  David  Mills, 
1822;  Daniel  Horton,  1822,  1827;  Cornelius  Lud- 
low, 1823;  -  James  Wood,  1825,  1830,  1837; 
David    Thompson,    1828;  Daniel    Hopping,   1828,   1832, 

1837,  1842;  Lemuel  Neighbour,  1828;  William  Logan, 
1829,  1834,  1843;  Silas  Lindsey,  1829,  1836;  William 
Brittin,  1829,  1833,  1839,  1845,  1850;  Stephen  Vail,  1829, 
1834;  Isaac  Quimby,  1829,  1834,  1836;  Joseph  Smith, 
1829,  1833,  1839;  Thomas  Dickerson,  1832;  Benjamin 
Crane,  1832,  1850,  1854;  Ephraim  Marsh,  1832,  1837, 
1842;  John  Hunt,  1833,  1838,  1843;  Andrew  B.  Cobb, 
1833,  1838,  1843;  William  Jackson,  1833;  Francis  Child 
jr.,  1833,  1843,  1851;  Stephen  Congar,  1833,  1838,  1843; 
Charles    Ford,    1833,    1838,    1843;  Silas    Condict,    1833, 

1838,  1843;  Ebenezer  F.  Smith,  1833,  1839;  David  W. 
Miller,  (833,  1838,  1843;  Benjamin  Roome,  1833;  Jeptha 
B.  Munn,  1833,  1843;  William  Dellecker,  1834;  Nicholas 
Arrowsmith  jr.,  1835;  John  A.  Bleecker,  1836,  1843; 
William  Babbit,  1837,  1842;  Stephen  Salmon,  1839; 
Peter  A.  Johnson,  1839;  John  J.  Young,  1840;  Aaron 
Doty,  1840;  Benjamin  P.  Lum,  1840;  Samuel  Hilts, 
1840;  George  R.  Colfax,  1841;  Joseph  Lovell,  1841; 
Archer  Stephens,  1843;  Jacob  Welch,  1843;  Henry  P. 
Green,  1843;  Richard  W.  Stites,  1843;  John  F.  Smith 
and  Jacob  Hann,  1843;  Lawrence  Hagar,  Squier  Lum 
and  Nathan  A.  Cooper,  1844;  Stephen  Clark,  Jacob 
Wilson,  Joseph  C.  Righter  and  Cornelius  W.  Mandeville, 
1844;  Samuel  B.  Halsey,  1846;  William  A.  Duer,  1847; 
Calvin  Howell,  1848;  Robert  F.  Wilson,  1849;  Joseph 
Dalrymple,  1852,  1857;  Cummings  McCarty,  1853;  Sam- 
uel O.  Breant,  1858;  Ira  C.  Whitehead,  1859;  James  H. 
Fancher,  1862;  John  W.  Hancock,  1864;  Lewis  B.  Cobb, 
1867;  James  S.  Fancher,  1868;  David  W.  Dellecker, 
1869,  1877;  John  L.  Kanouse,  1872;  Benjamin  O.  Can- 
field,  1873;  Freeman  Wood,  1874,  1879. 

By  an  act  of  the  Legislature  February  26th  1878  ope 
of  the  three  judges  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  was  to 
be  thereafter  a  counselor  at  law,  to  be  the  president  judge 
of  the  court  and  to  hold  his  office  for  five  years.  Under 
this  act  Hon.  Francis  Child  was  appointed  February  26th 
1878. 

Justices  of  the  Peace. — From  1776  to  1844  the  justices 
of  the  peace  of  each  county  were  appointed  in  joint 
meeting,  to  hold  their  office  for  five  years,  and  were  con- 
sidered county  officers.  Besides  those  who  were  also 
judges,  and  whose  names  appear  as  such,  there  were  ap- 
pointed for  Morris  county  the  following: 

Robert  Gould,  1776;  Aaron  Stark,  1776,  1777;  Samuel 
Wills,  1776;  John  Waldruff,  1775;  Moses  Tuttle,  1776; 
Jacob  Doley,  1776;  Constant  King,  1776;  Henry  Mande- 
ville jr.,  1776,  1777,  1781,  1783;  Matthew  Burnet,  1776; 
John  Brookfield,  1776,  1781;  Jonathan  Stiles  (resigned 
January  loth  1779),  1776,  1781;  David  Brewin,  1776; 
Daniel  Cooper  jr.,  1876,  1781;  Benjamin  Howell,  1776, 
1781;    John  Jacob  Faesch,  1776,  1781;    Elijah  Horton, 


1776,  1782;  Jacob  Gould,  1777,  1782,  1787;  Stephen 
Day,  1777,  1782;  John  Cobb  (resigned  October  2nd  1778), 
1777;  William  Young,  1777,  1782  (resigned  August  13th 
1784);  Aaron  Kitchel,  1777,  1782;  Seth  Babbitt,  1777, 
1782;    William    Ross,    1778;    William   Woodhull,    1780, 

1790,  179s,  1803,  1806,  1808;  David  Thompson,  1781; 
Jacob  Minton,  1781;  Abraham  Kitchel,  1782;  Benjamin 
Lindsley  (resigned  August  3tst  1784),  1782;  Joseph 
Wood,  1782;  John  Stark,  1783,  1789,  1794,  1799;  Ebene- 
zer Tuttle  (resigned  June  ist  1786),  1783;  Eleazer  Linds- 
ley, 1783;  Daniel  Cook,  1784,  1789;  John  Riggs,  1784; 
Jacob  Shuiler,  1786;  William  Logan,  1786;  Cornelius 
Voorhees,  1787;  Caleb  Russell,  1787;  Hiram  Smith, 
1788;  Moses  Tuttle  (resigned  November  23d  1790),  1788; 
David  Welsh  jr.,  1789,  1794,  1799,  1804,  1809,  1814,  1819; 
Alexander  Carmichael,  1790,  1795;  Enos  Ward,  1791; 
Nathaniel  Terry,  1791;  John  Debow,  1791;  John  Salter, 

1791,  1796;  Stephen  Jackson,  1791;  Artemas  Day,  1791; 
William  Corwine,  1792,  1797,  1803,  1808,  1813;  John 
Kitchel,  1792;  Abraham  Fairchild,  1792,  i797> 
1803;  Ellis  Cook,  1793;  Ebenezer  Cae,  1793,  1798, 
1804,  1809,  1814,  1819,  1824;  Jabez  Campfield, 
i793>  1798;  Hiram  Smith,  1793;  Simeon  Broad- 
well,  1793;  George  Bockover,  1794,  1799;  John 
Cobb,  1794,  1799,  1803;  Joseph  Lewis,  1796; 
Benjamin  Beach,  1796,  1801,  1806,  1811;  Robert  Colfax, 
1796,  1812,  1818,  1822;  Ebenezer  Drake,  1796,  1801; 
John  De  Camp,  1796,  1801,  1806,  1812,  1817;  Joshua 
Jennings,  1797;  Aaron  Ball,  1798,  1803;  Nicholas  Em- 
mons, 1798,  1803,  1808;  Ziba  Hazen,  1799;  Nicholas 
Mandeville,  1799,  1803,  1808,  1813,  1818;  Nicholas 
Neighbour,  1799,  1804,  1809,  1814;  Israel  Lum,  1799, 
1804;  Daniel  Horton,  1801,  1806,  1812,  1816,  1821,  1826; 
Joseph  Hedges,  1801,  1806,  1812;  Abraham  Kitchel, 
1803;  Benjamin  Ludlow,  1803;  Richard  Johnson,  1803, 
1808,  1813,  1818;  Jesse  Upson,  1803,  1808,  1813,  1818, 
1823,  1828;  William  Munro,  1803,  1808, 1818,  1822,  1824, 
1833,  1834  (resigned  1835);  Benjamin  Condit,  1803,  1808, 
1813,  1818,  1823,  1828;  Daniel  Hurd,  1803,  1808;  Ben- 
jamin Lamson,  1803,  1808,  1813;  Jacob  Miller,  1804; 
John  Doughty,  1805,  1812;  Jonathan  Ogden,  1805,  1812; 
David  Pier,  1805,  1810;  Silas  Cook,  1805,  1812,  1817, 
1826,  1833,  1838,  1843;  Peter  Smith,  1805,  181  t;  Daniel 
Hopping,  1805,  1810,  1816,  1820,  1825,  1832;  Benjamin 
Smith,  1806,  1811,  1813,  1816,  1818,  1819  (resigned  1820); 
Preserve  RigRS,  1806,  1811;  Isaac  Lindsley,  1806,  1811; 
Cornelius  Voorhees,  1807;   Edward  Condict,  1807,  1812, 

1817,  1822,    1824,   1827,    1829,    1834;  Lot   Dixon,   1807, 

1812,  1817;  Joseph  Halsey,  1807;  David  S.  Bates, 
1807;  Ezekiel  Kitchel,  1808;  Philip  Schuyler, 
1808;    John     Kelso,     1808;     Henry    Cooper    jr.,    1808, 

1813,  1818;  William  Spencer,  1809,  1813  (resigned  1814); 
Benjamin  Pierson,  1809,  1814,  1819;  Mahlon  Dickerson, 
181 1 ;  Thomas  Van  Winkle,  181 1,  1816,  1820,  1825,  1832, 
1837;  Thomas  Parrot,  1811,  1818;  Thomas  Logan  jr., 
i8i2,  T817,  1821;  Stephen  Dickerson,  1812,  1817,  1821, 
1826,  1831,  1836;  John  Smith,  1812,  1817,  1820;  Israel 
Canfield,  1812;  John  G.  Cooper,  1812,  1817,  1822; 
Ebenezer    H.    Pierson,    1813;    Joseph    Jackson,    1813, 

1818,  1822,  1827;  Henry  W.  Phillips,  1813;  Lemuel 
Cobb,  1813.  1818,  1822,  1827;  John  Stark  "3d,  1813; 
Cornelius  Davenport,  1813;  Lawrence  Henn,  1813; 
Jacob  B.  Drake,  1813;  William  Woodhull,  1813, 
1818;  Elijah  Ward,  1814,  1818,  1835,  1844; 
Leonard  Neighbour,    1814,    1819,  1824;  Obadiah  Crane, 

1814,  1819;  David  Mills,  1814,  1818  (resigned  1819), 
1822;  Silas  Lindsley,  1815,  1820,  1825,  1830;  Jacob 
Drake  jr.,  1815,  1820;  Jacob  Demouth,  1815,  1820,  1826, 
1832;  Jonathan  Miller,  1815,  1820,  1825,  1838,  1843; 
Lambert  Bowman,  1815;  William  Babbit,  1815,  1820, 
1825,    1831,   1837,    1842;  Samuel  S.  Beach,  1816;  Aaron 


JUSTICES— MEMBERS  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE. 


77 


Ball,    1816;  Paul   Drake,  1816,  1825;  Squier  Lum,  1816, 
1821,  1826,  1831,  1836,  1842;  David  Miller,  1817;  David 
Day,  1817,  1821,  1826,  1836,  1842;  Abraham  Cook,  1817 
Jacob  Weise,  1817;  Lewis  Condit,i8i8;  John  Sharp  3d 

1818,  1824,  1829,  1834;  Gabrier  Johnson,  1819,  1823 
1828;  Joseph    Hedges,    1819;  William    Dellecker,   1819, 

1823,  1828,  1833;  Ephraim  P.  Stiles,  1818;  Joseph  Smith 

1819,  1824,   1829,   1839;  Ebenezer  Smith,  1820;  Robert 
"-Staght,  1820;  Nicholas  Arrowsmith  jr.,  1821,  1826,  1836 

John  Smith  of  Roxbury,  182 1;  Richard  Grey,  182 1 
1826,    1830    (resigned);  Benjamin    P.    Lum,  1822,   1827 

1832,  1837,  1841,  1842;  Samuel  Weise,  1822;  Cornelius 
Ludlow,  1822,  1827;  Benjamin  Crane,  1822,  1827,  1832 
"Stephen  Congar,  1822,  1827,  1832,  1837,  1842;  Aaron 
Kitchel,  1822,  1827;  William  Logan,  1822,  1827,  1832 
David  Thorp,  1822,  1827;  John  Hunt,  1823,  1828,  1837 
1842;  Peter  Kemple,  1823,  1828,  1833,  1839;  Aaron  Sal- 
mon, 1823,  1832,  1837,  1842;  Isaac  Quimby,  1824,  1829 
1834;  William    Thompson,    1824;    Ebenezer   F.    Smith 

1824,  1829,  1833,  1834;  Thomas  Dickerson,  1824,  1829 
Samuel     Sayre     of     Roxbury,      1825;       James     Wood 

1825,  1830,  1837;  Azariah  Carter,  1825,  1830 
1836,  1843;  Benjamin  Rome  jr.,  1825,  1833;  Peter 
Freeman,  1825,  1830;  Sylvanus  Cooper,  1826,  1831;  John 
Sherman,  1826,  1836;  John  F.  Smith,  1826,  1831,  1832 
David  Thompson,  1828;  Lemuel  Neighbour,  1828;  George 
H.  Ludlow,  1828;  Daniel  L.  Tuttle,  1828;  Zephaniah 
Drake,  1829;  Matthias  Kitchel,  1829,  1834,  1839;  Wil- 
liam De  Hart,  of  Pequannock,  1829;  Andrew  Pearce, 
1829;  William  Brittin,  1829,  1834;  Nathaniel  Corwin, 
1829,  1834;    Jacob  Welsh  of  Washington  township,  1829, 

1834,  1839;  Alexander  Dickerson,  1829,  1834,  1839; 
Stephen  Vail,  1829,  1834;  John  A.  Bleecker,  1829,  1834; 
-Charles  Freeman,  1829;  Joseph  Dalrymple,  1829;  Robert 
K.  Tuttle,  1829,  1834,  1843;  Daniel  Thompson  jr.,  1829; 
Simeon  Lindsley,  1830,  1835,  1844;  Henry  Stephens, 
1830;  Peter  A.  Johnson,  1830,  1835,  1840;  George  R. 
•Colfax,  1830,  1833,  1836,  1840;  Moses  Beach,  1831;  John 
Righter,  1831,  1836;  Isaac  ISeach  jr.,  1831;  John  W. 
Hancock,  1831;  George  Trimmer  jr.,  1831,  1836;  Daniel 
McCorraick,  1831;  David  Horton,  1831;  Michael  Arrow- 
smith,  1831;  Joseph  Jackson,  1831,  1836,  1841;  Andrew 
Fleck,  1831;  Nelson,  Howell,  1832;  Morris  Hager,  1832; 
James  M.  Fleming,  1832,  1838;  Cornelius  Mandeville, 
1832;  Isaac  Whitehead,  1832;  Robert  Hand,  1832;  Isaac 
Ball,  1832;  Ephraim  Marsh,  T832;  Stephen  Salmon,  1833, 
1838,  1843;    John    Debow,   1833,   1838;    Silas   C.  Clark, 

1833,  1838;  Jacob  Johnson,  1833;  Daniel  Runyon,  1833, 
1838,  1843;  Francis  Stickle,  1833;  Samuel  Sayre  of  Mor- 
ris, 1833;  William  Headley,  1833;  Stephen  O.  Guerin, 
1833;  John  Welsh,  1833;  Robert  C.  Stephens,  1833,  1838, 
1843;  William  O.  Ford,  1833,  1838,  1839,  1843;  Calvin 
Dixon,  1833,  1838;  Loammi  Moore,  1833,  1838;  Francis 
Child  jr.,  1833;  Silas  Condict,  1833,  1843;  Samuel  Hilts, 
1833,  1838,  1843;  Calvin  Thompson,  1833;  David  W. 
Miller,  1833,  1843;  Stephen  R.  Haines,  1833;  William 
Jackson,  1833;  John  Seward  jr.,  1833,  1838;  William 
Spriggs,  1833;  Isaac  Mead,  1833;  John  Mott  jr.,  1833; 
Nathan  A.  Cooper,  1834;  John  Hardy,  1834;  Daniel  P. 
Merchant,  1834;  Calvin  D.  Smith,  1834;  John  S.  Ballen- 
tine,  1834;  Jeptha  B.  Munn,  1834;    Jonathan  Thompson, 

1835,  1843;  Rheace  Nicholas,  1835,  1843;  James  Ely,  1835; 
Samuel  Hedges,  1835,  1843;  John  M.  Losey,  1835;  Moses 
A.  Brookfield,  1836,  1843;  Henry  Kennedy,  1836;  Mah- 
lon  Pitney  jr.,  1836,  1841;  Samuel  C.  Caskey,  1836,  1844; 
David  Burnet  jr.,  1836;  Josiah  P.  Knapp,  1836;  Elisha 
Bard,  1836;  John  Garrigus  jr.,  1836,  1841;  Henry  Ste- 
vens, 1837,  1842;  John  T.  Young,  1837;  William  Allen, 
1837;  Nathaniel  F.  Douglass,  1837,  1842;  Archer  Ste- 
phens, 1837;  1842;  Isaac  Bird,  1838,  1843;  Henry  Cole, 
1838,    1843;  Aaron    Doty,    1838,    1843;    Charles    Ford, 


1838,1843;  DavidT.  Cooper,  1838,  1843;  Henry  J.  Hoff- 
man, 1839;  Calvin  Howell,  1839;  Martin  S.  Moore,  1839; 
Morris  Sharp,  1839;  Samuel  Swayze,  1839;  Robert  Al- 
bright, 1839,  1844;  Enos  Davenport,  1839;  John  Dal- 
rymple, 1839;  Silas  L.  Condict,  1839;  James  F.  Hopping, 
1839;  Benjamin  L.  Condict,  1840;  David  Crater  jr.,  1840; 
Jared  Howell,  1840;  William  B.  La  Fever,  1840;  Elisha 
B.  Mott,  1840;  Moses  Cherry,  1840;  Jacob  Holloway, 
1840;  Joseph  C.  Harvey,  Abraham  C.  Canfield,  Hubbard 
S.  Stickle,  John  Wells,  William  Nichols  and  William  P. 
Brittin,  1841;  John  J.  Youngs,  Andrew  Flock,  James  R. 
Dennison,  1842;  William  M.  Clark,  1843,  resigned  1845; 
Wickliff  H.  Genung,  John  Seward  jr.,  David  Sandford, 
David  Burnet,  James  Ely,  John  J.  Ballentine,  Jacob 
Swackhamer,  Thomas  Coe,  Thomas  Landron,  Cummins 
McCarty,  William  Little,  Michael  McLane,  Joseph  Cole- 
man, David  S.  De  Camp,  Gilman  T.  Cummings,  William 
B.  Johnson,  Josiah  B.  Knapp  and  William  H.  Dickerson, 
1843;  Henry  Kennedy,  Cornelius  W.  Mandeville,  Eli- 
phalet  Drake,  Moses  Beam,  John  Gray,  Alfred  Vanduyne, 
Jacob  Powers,  William  T.  Munroe,  Jacob  Drake,  Stephen 
W.  T.  Meeker,  David  Allen  and  Timothy  Southard,  1844. 

The  constitution  of  1844  provided  for  the  election  of 
justices  of  the  peace  by  the  people  of  each  township. 

Members  of  the  Council  (elected  annually  under  the 
first  constitution). — Silas  Condict,  1776-80;  John  Carle, 
1781-84;  John  Cleves  Symmes,  1785;  Abraham  Kitchel, 
1786-88,  1793,  1794,  1798-1800;  William  Woodhull,  1789, 
1790;  Ellis  Cook,  1791, 1792,  179s;  David  Welsh,  1801-6; 
Benjamin  Ludlow,  1807-14;  Jesse  Upson,  1815-22  (vice- 
president  1818-22;  Silas  Cook,  1823-27  (vice-president 
in  1827);  Edward  Condict,  1828-30;  James  Wood,  1831, 
1832,  1840,  1841;  Mahlon  Dickerson,  1833;  William 
Munro,  1834;  Jeptha  B.  Munn,  1835,  1836;  William  Brit- 
tin, 1837,  1838;  Jacob  W.  Miller,  1839;  Ezekiel  B. 
Gaines,  1842;  John  H.  Stanburrough,  1843. 

State  Senators. — John  B.  Johnes,  1845-47;  Ephraim 
Marsh,  1848-50  (president  in  1849  and  1850);  John  A. 
Bleeker,  1851-53;  Alexander  Robertson,  1854-56;  An- 
drew B.  Cobb,  1857-59;  Daniel  Budd,  1860-62;  Lyman 
A.  Chandler,  1863-65;  George  T.  Cobb,  1866-70;  Colum- 
bus Beach,  1871;  Augustus  W.  Cutler,  1872-74;  John 
Hill,  1875-77;  Augustus  C.  Canfield,  1878-80;  James  C. 
Youngblood,  1881. 

Assemblymen. — Under  the  first  constitution,  adopted 
July  2nd  1776,  each  county  was  entitled  to  three  assem- 
blymen, who  were  elected  on  the  second  Tuesday  of 
October,  the  Assembly  convening  on  the  second  Tues- 
day thereafter.  In  1815  Morris  county  was  authorized 
to  elect  four  members  of  Assembly,  but  the  number 
three  was  restored  in  i860.  The  county  was  first  dis- 
tricted in  1852,  Chatham  and  Morris  townships  com- 
posing the  first  district,  Hanover  and  Pequannock  the 
second,  Jefferson,  Rockaway  and  Roxbury  the  third,  and 
Chester,  Mendham,  Randolph  and  Washington  the  fourth. 
In  i860  the  county  was  redistricted,  to  conform  to  the 
reduced  representation,  as  follows:  ist  district,  Chatham, 
Chester,  Mendham  and  Morris;  2nd,  Hanover,  Pequannock 
and  Rockaway;  3d,  Jefferson,  Randolph  and  Roxbury.  The 
subsequent  arrangement  of  districts  has  been  as  follows: 
1867 — ist  district,  Chatham,  Hanover,  Morris  and  Pas- 
saic; 2nd,  Jefferson,  Pequannock,  Randolph  and  Rock- 
away; 3d,  Chester,  Mendham,  Roxbury  and  Washing- 
ton. 1868 — ist  district,  Chatham,  Hanover,  Mendham, 
Morris  and  Passaic;  2nd,  Boonton,  Jefferson  and  Rock- 


78 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


away;  3d,  Chester,  Randolph,  Roxbury  and  Washington, 
1871 — ist  district,  Chathann,  Hanover,  Montville  and 
Morris;  2nd,  Boonton,  Jefferson,  Pequannock  and  Rock- 
away;  3d,  Chester,  Mendham,  Passaic,  Randolph,  Rox- 
bury and  Washington.  An  act  redistricting  the  county 
as  follows  in  1878  was  repealed  in  1879 — 1st  district, 
Chatham,  Chester,  Mendham,  Morris  and  Passaic;  2nd, 
Boonton,  Hanover,  Montville,  Pequannock  and  Rocka- 
way;  3d,  Jefferson,  Mt.  Olive,  Randolph,  Roxbury  and 
Washington.  By  an  act  of  March  21st  1881  Mt.  Olive 
and  Roxbury  were  attached  to  the  2nd  district.  In  the 
following  list  of  members  of  Assembly  from  Morris  county 
the  district  represented  by  the  ■  member  is  indicated  by 
its  .number  following  his  name,  and  the  territory  repre- 
sented can  be  ascertained  by  reference  to  the  dates 
above: 

Jacob  Drake,  1776-78;  Ellis  Cook,  1776,  1777,  1779, 
1781-92;  William  Woodhull,  1776,  1777;  Abraham 
Kitchel,  1778,  1779;  David  Thompson,  1778,  1795; 
Alexander  Carmichael,  1779;  William  Winds,  1780;  John 
Carle,  1780;  Eleazer  Lindsley,  1780;  Aaron  Kitchel, 
1781,  1782,  1784,  1786-90,  1793,  1794,  1797,  1801-04,  1809; 
John  Starke,  1781-83,  1785-88,  1791,  1795;  Jonathan 
Dickerson,  1783;  Jacob  Arnold,  1784,  1785,  1789,  1790; 
Hiram  Smith,  1791,  1792;  Silas  Condict,  1791-94,  1796- 
98,  1800  (speaker  1792-94,  1797);  John  Wurts,  1792; 
David  Welsh,  1783,  1784,  1786,  1797,  1800;  John  Debow, 
1795;  John  Cobb,  1796;  William  Corwin,  1798,  1799, 
1801-03;  Cornelius  Voorheese,  179,8,  1800;  William  Camp- 
field,  1799;  Jonathan  Ogden,  1802-04;  Jesse  Upson,  1804- 
06;  Lewis  Condict,  1805-09  (speaker  1808,  1809);  George 
Tucker,  1805;  Nicholas  Neighbour,  i8o6-c8;  Stephen 
Dod,  1807-12;  Jeptha  B.  Munn,  1810-12,  1814;  Nicholas 
Mandeville,  1810,  1813-15;  Mahlon  Dickerson,  1811-13; 
Leonard  Neighbour,  1813,  1831;  David  Thompson  jr., 
1814-22  (speaker  1818-22);  Benjamin  Condit,  1815,  1816, 
i8ig;  Ezekiel  Kitchel,  1815,  1816;  Samuel  Halliday, 
1816-18;  John  S.  Darcy,  1817,  1818;  Benjamin  Mc- 
Curry,  1817,  1821,  1822,  1824;  William  Brittin, 
1818,  1819-24,  1832;  Silas  Cook,  1819,  1820;  Wil- 
liam Munro,  1820,  1821,  1823,  1828-30;  Benja- 
min Smith,  1820,  1822,  1823;  George  K.  Drake, 
1823-26  (speaker  1825,  1826);  John  Scott,  1824; 
Ebenezer  F.  Smith,  1825;  Joseph  Dickerson,  1825,  1826; 
Ephraim  Marsh,  1825- 27;  John  D.  Jackson,  1826;  David 
Mills,  1827;  Stephen  Thompson,  1827;  Walter  Kirkpat- 
rick,  1827;  Joseph  Jackson,  1828-30;  Charles  Hillard, 
1828-30;  John  Hancock,  1828-30;  Elijah  Ward,  1831; 
Thomas  Muir,  1831,  1833,  1834;  James  Cook,  1831, 1835; 
Samuel  Beach,  1832;  Jacob  W.  Miller,  1832;  Joseph 
Smith,  1832;  Joseph  Dickerson  jr.,  1833,  1834;  Henry 
Hillard,  1833-35;  Silas  Lindsley,  1833,  1834;  Isaac 
Quimby,  1835;  John  D.  Jackson,  1835;  John  A.  Bleeker, 
1836;  William  Dellicker,  1836;  Alexander  Dickerson, 
1836;  William  Logan,  1836;  Lewis  Condict,  1837,  1838 
(speaker);  Silas  Tuttle,  1837,  1838;  Robert  C.  Stephens, 
1837,  1838;  Ezekiel  B.  Gaines,  1837,  1838;  Abraham 
Brittin,  1839,  1840;  Ebenezer  F.  Smith,  1839,  1840;  Jacob 
Weise,  1839;  Paul  B.  Debow,  1839,  1840;  James  W. 
Drake,  1840,  1841;  Samuel  B.  Halsey,  1841,  1842 
(speaker  1842);  William  Stephens,  1841,  1842;  Thomas 
C.Willis,  1841;  David  T.  Cooper,  1842,  1848,  1849; 
James  Clark,  1842,  1843;  John  M.  Losey,  1843;  Samuel 
Willett,  1843;  George  Vail,  1843;  Timothy  Kitchel, 
1845;  Matthias  Kitchel,  1845,  1846;  Henry  Seward,  1845, 
1846;  George  H.  Thompson,  1845,  1846;  Calvin  Howell, 
1846,  1847;    Richard  Lewis,  1847;     Charles  McFarland, 


1847;  Samuel  Hilts,  1847;  Samuel  Van  Ness,  1848,  1849; 
Edward  W.  Whelpley,  1848,  1849  (speaker  1849);  An- 
drew J.  Smith,  1848,  1849;  John  L.  Kanouse,  1850,  1854; 
Andrew  B.  Cobb,  2,  1850,  1854;  Freeman  Wood,  1850; 
George  H.  Thompson,  1850;  Cornelius  B.  Doremus, 
1851,  1852;  Horace  Chamberlain,  1851;  Jonathan  P. 
Bartley,  1851;  Josiah  Meeker,  1851;  John  D.  Jackson, 
3, 1852,  1853;  Cornelius  S.  Dickerson,  1852,  1853;  Robert 
Albright,  1,  1852,  1853;  William  P.  Conkling,  i,  1854, 
1855;  William  Logan,  3,  1854,  1855;  Aaron  Pitney, 
4,  1854,  1855;  Edward  Howell,  2,  1855,  1856;  Wil- 
liam M.  Muchmore,  i,  1856;  William  A.  Carr, 
3,  1856,  1857;  Daniel  Budd,  4,  1856,  1857;  Benja- 
min M.  Felch,  1,  1857;  Richard  Speer,  2,  1857,  1858; 
Lyman  A.  Chandler,  3,  1858;  John  Naughright,  4,  1858; 
1858,  1859;  A.  H.  Stanburrough,  1,  1859;  James  H.  Ball, 
2,1859,  i860;  Eugene  Ayers,  i,  i860;  Nelson  H.  Drake, 
3,  1860-62;  Nathan  Horton.  4,  i860,  1861;  William  W. 
Beach,  i,  1861;  John  Hill,  2,  1861,  1862,  1866  (speaker); 
Jacob  Vanatta,  1,  1862,  1863;  William  J.  Wood,  2,  1863; 
Jesse  Hoffman,  3,  1863-65,  Henry  C.  Sanders,  i,  1864; 
John  Bates,  2,  1864,  1865;  Alfred  M.  Treadwell,  1,  1865, 
James  C.  Yawger,  1,  1866,  1867;  Elias.M.  White,  3,  1866; 
1867;  Lewis  Estler,  2,  1867;  Daniel  Coghlan,  i,  1868; 
George  Gage,  2,  1868;  Jesse  M.  Sharp,  3,  1868-70; 
Theo.  W.  Phoenix,  i,  1869,  1870;  Columbus  Beach,  2, 
1869,  1870;  Nathaniel  Niles,  1,  1871,  1872  (speaker); 
William  B.  Lefevre,  2,  1871,  1872;  Aug.  C.  Canfield,  3, 
1871-73;  William  H.  Howell,  1,  1873,  1874;  Jacob  Z. 
Budd,  2,  1873,  1874;  Elias  M.  Skellenger,  3,  1874-76; 
J.  C.  Youngblood,  1,  1875,  1876;  Edmund  D.  Halsey,  2, 
1875,  1876;  A.  C.  Van  Duyne,  i,  1877;  C.  O.  Cooper,  2, 
1877,  1878;  C.  P.  Garrabrant,  3,  1877,  1878;  Joshua  S. 
Salmon,  2,  1878;  Charles  F.  Axtell,  i,  1879,  1880;  James 
H.  Bruen,  2,  1879,  1880;  Holloway  W.  Hunt,  3,  1879, 
1880;  William  C.  Johnson,  1,  1881,  1882;  John  F.  Post^ 
2,  i88r,  1882;  Oscar  Lindsley,  3,  1881,  1882. 

United  States  Senators. — Aaron  Kitchel,  son  of  Joseph 
and  Rachel  Kitchel,  born  in  Hanover  in  1744,  died  June 
25th  1820.  For  a  sketch  of  his  life  see  Rev.  H.  D. 
Kitchel's  history  of  Robert  Kitchel  and  his  descendants. 

Mahlon  Dickerson,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Mary  Dicker- 
son,  born  April  17th  1770,  died  October  4th  1853;  sena- 
tor from  March  4th  1817  to  March  3d  1833. 

Jacob  W.  Miller,  born  in  1802,  died  September  30th 
1862;  senator  from  March  4th  1841  to  March  4th  1853. 

Theodore  F.  Randolph,  born  in  New  Brunswick,  June 
24th  1826;  senator  from  March  4th  1871;  to  March  ^d 
1881.  ^ 

Congressmen. — Silas  Condict,  1781-84;  born  March  7tb 
1738,  died  September  18th  1801. 

Aaron  Kitchel,  1791-93,  1794-97.  1799-1801;  also- 
United  States  senator. 

Lewis  Condict,  1811-17,  1821-33;  speaker  of  the 
House;  born  March  1773,  died  May  26th  1862. 

Bernard  Smith,  son  of  Bernard  Smith,  of  Rockaway,. 
1819-21;  died  at  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  July  i6th  1835,  aged 
59- 

George  Vail,  born  in  1803,  died  May  23d  1875;  repre- 
sentative 1853-57  (33d  and  34th  Congresses). 

George  T.  Cobb,  born  October  13th  1813,   killed  by  a 
railroad    accident    near    White    Sulphur    Springs     Va. 
August  6th  1870;  representative  1861-63  (37th  Congress)' 

Augustus  W.  Cutler,  born  1829;  representative  1875- 
79  (44th  and  45th  Congresses). 

John  Hill,  born  1821;  representative  1867-73,  1881-85 
(40th,  41st,  42nd  and  47th  Congresses). 

MILITIA    OFFICERS. 

The  militia  of  Morris  county  after  the   Revolutionary 


MILITIA  OFFICERS  AFTER  THE  REVOLUTION. 


79 


war  was  organized  in  four  regiments  of  infantry,  each 
commanded  by  one  lieutenant  colonel  and  two  majors, 
to  form  one  brigade,  to  be  commanded  by  a  brigadier 
general;  and  one  squadron  of  cavalry  to  form,  with  a 
squadron  from  Essex  county,  one  regiment,  to  be  com- 
manded by  a  lieutenant  colonel.  June  5th  1793  the  field 
officers  of  these  regiments  were  all  appointed  in  joint 
meeting — some  of  the  appointments  being  no  doubt  re- 
appointments. In  1799  the  militia  act  seems  to  have 
been  revised,  but  the  same  number  of  field  officers  were 
retained. 

The  following  is  a  roster*  of  the  militia  as  far  as  can 
be  ascertained.  Immediately  following  the  name  is  the 
date  of  commission;  "res."  stands  for  resigned  and 
"  prom."  for  promoted. 

Brigadier  Generals. — John  Doughty,  res.  Oct.  30  1800. 
Pruden  Ailing,  Nov.  13  1800;  res.  1806.  Benjamin  Lud- 
low, Mch.  12  1806;  prom.  maj.  gen.  2nd  div.  Nov.  25 
i8og.  John  Darcy,  Nov.  25  1809;  res.  Feb.  17  1815. 
Solomon  Doughty,  Feb.  17  1815.  John  Smith,  Feb.  13 
1818;  res.  Dec.  9  1823.  John  S.  Darcy,  Dec.  9  1823. 
Cornelius  W.  Mandeville,  Jan.  24  1834. 

FIRST    OR   MIDDLE    REGIMENT. 

Colonels. — Charles  T.  Day,  Oct.  31  1833.  Jabez  Beers, 
Mch.  10  1836. 

Lieutenant  Colonels. — Jacob  Arnold,  June  5  1793;  res. 
Oct.  31  1806.  Nehemiah  Losey,  Nov.  25  1806;  res.  Nov. 
2  1809.  Silas  Axtell,  Nov.  25  1809;  res.  Feb.  17  1815. 
Solomon  Boyle,  Feb.  17  1815;  res.  Feb.  ri  1818.  Wil- 
liam Brittin,  Feb.  13  1818;  res.  Mch.  i  1828.  Stephen 
D.  Hunting,  Mch.  i  1828;  res.  Nov.  8  1828.  James  W. 
Drake,  Feb.  20  1828. 

Majors  1st  Battalion. — Benjamin  Ludlow,  June  5 
1763;  promoted  Mch.  12  1806.  David  Lindsley,  Mch. 
12  1806;  res.  Nov.  2,  1809.  Solomon  Boyle,  Nov.  25, 
1809;  prom.  Feb.  17  1815.  William  Brittin,  Feb.  17, 
1809;  prom.  Feb.  13,  1818.  Halsey  Miller,  Feb.  17 
1819;  res.  Mch.  i  1820.  Charles  Freeman,  Mch.  i  1820. 
Stephen  D.  Hunting,  Dec.  20  1824;  prom.  Mch.  i  1828. 
John  S.  Budd,  Mch.  i  1828;  res.  Feb.  20  1829.  Wil- 
liam W.  Clark,  Feb.  20  1829.  William  R.  Bradley,  Mch. 
4  1835.     Benj.  R.Robinson.  Mch.  10  1836. 

Majors  2nd  Battalion. — John  Kinney,  June  5  1793; 
res.  1804.     Nehemiah  Losey,  Nov.  29  1804;  prom.  Nov. 

25  1806.  Silas  Axtell,  Nov.  25  1806;  prom.  Nov.  25 
1809.  Grover  Youngs,  Nov.  25  1809;  res.  Feb.  6  1817. 
Samuel  Halliday,  Feb.  6  1817;  res.  Nov.  21  1820.  Lewis 
Loree,  Nov.  21  1820;  res.  Nov.  23  1822.  Silas  Miller, 
Nov.  23  1822;  res.  Oct.  26  1827.     James  W.  Drake,  Oct. 

26  1827;  prom.  Feb.  20  1828.  Daniel  C.  Martin,  Feb. 
20  1829;  prom.  Feb.  27  1830  to  cavalry  regiment.  Wil- 
liam Tuttle  jr.,  Feb.  27  1830.  Samuel  L.  Axtell,  Oct. 
31  1834.     Philip  Riley,  Mch.  10  1836. 

SECOND,    UPPER    OR    WESTERN    REGIMENT. 

Colonels.— V)z.v\&  W.  Miller,  Feb.  28  1838;  res.  Mch. 
12  1839.     Henry  Halsey,  Mch.  12  1839. 

Lieutenant-Colonels.— ]d^r\  Stark;  res.  May  23  1782. 
Nathan  Luse,  June  21  1782.  Amos  Stark,  June  5  1793. 
James   Cook,  res.  Nov.  2    1809.      John    Budd,  Nov.  25 


*  The  author  acknowledges  valuable  services  rendered  in  compiling 
these  lists  by  James  S.  MoDanolds,  State  librarian;  Adjutant  General 
WUliam  S.  Stryker,  Assistant  Adjutant  General  James  D.  Kiger,  and 
Hon.  Henry  C.  Kelsey,  secretary  of  State. 


1809;  res.  Nov.  2  1811.  John  Smith,  Nov.  2  i8ii;prom. 
Feb.  13  1818.  Benjamin  McCoury,  Feb.  13  1818;  res. 
Nov.  23  1822.  Nathan  Horton  jr.,  Nov.  23  1822;  res. 
Oct.  28  1825.  Hugh  Bartley,  Dec.  27  1825;  res.  Feb. 
26  1830.     Charles  Hilliard,  Feb.  27  1830. 

Majors  xst  Battalion. — David  Welsh,  June  5  1793;  res. 
Oct.  25  1793.  David  Miller,  Feb.  ig  1794;  res.  Oct.  30 
1799.  Leonard  Neighbour,  Oct.  30  1799;  res.  Nov.  2 
1809.  Benjamin  McCoury,  Nov.  25  1809;  prom.  Feb.  13 
r8i8.  Nathaniel  Horton,  Feb.  13  1818;  prom.  Nov.  23 
1822.  Elijah  Horton,  Dec.  9  1823;  res.  Mch.  i  1828. 
Henry  Kennedy,  Mch.  i  1828. 

Majors  2nd  Battalion. — James  Cook,  June  5  1793. 
John  Smith,  Nov.  25  1809;  prom.  Nov.  2  181 1.  Cad- 
wallader  Smith,  Nov.  2  1811;  res.  Mch.  i  1820.  Joseph 
Budd,  Mch.  I  1820;  res.  Dec.  9  1823.  Hugh  Bartley, 
Dec.  9  1823;  prom.  Dec.  27  1825.  Charles  Hilliard, 
Dec.  27  1825;  prom.  Feb.  27  1830.  Thomas  Landon, 
Feb.  27  1830;  res.  Feb.  15  1831.  Arthur  Valentine,  res. 
Mch.  4  1833.     John  Caskey,  Mch.  4  1835. 

THIRD    OR    NORTHERN    REGIMENT. 

Lieutenant- Colonels. — Chilion  Ford,  June  5  1793;  died. 
Kbenezer  H.  Pierson,  Feb.  26  1801;  res.  Nov.  i  1804. 
Joseph  Jackson,  Nov.  29  1804;  res.  Feb.  6  1817.  John 
Scott,  Feb.  6  1817;  res.  Nov.  15  1820.  Samuel  S.  Beach, 
Nov.  15  1820;  res.  Dec.  9  1823.  John  H.  Stanburrough, 
Dec.  9  1813;  res.  Oct.  28  1825.  John  C.  Doughty,  Dec. 
7  1825;  res.  Nov.  8  1828.  Thomas  Muir,  Nov.  8  1828. 
Thomas  Coe,  Mch.  4  1835.  Nathaniel  Mott,  Feb.  28 
1838. 

Majors  ist  Battalion. — Samuel  Minthorn,  June  5  1793; 
Benjamin  Jackson,  Nov.  23  1795;  res.  Joseph  Jackson, 
Feb.  26  1801;  prom.  Nov.  29  1804.  William  Lee,  Mch. 
12  1806;  res.  Feb.  19  1813.  John  Hinchman,  Feb.  19 
1813.  Samuel  S.  Beach,  Feb.  6  1817;  prom.  Nov.  15 
1820.  John  P.  Cook,  Nov.  15  1820.  Frederick  De 
Mouth,  Dec.  7  1825;  res.  Nov.  6  1829.  Joseph  Hinch- 
man, Feb.  27  1830.     Peter  Coe,  Feb.  15  1831. 

Majors  2nd  Battalion. — Cornelius  Hoagland,  June  5 
1793;  removed.  Joshua  Jennings;  Feb.  26  1801;  res. 
Nov.  3  1803.  Joseph  Hurd,  Nov.  3  1803.  Joseph  Hop- 
ping, Feb.  9  1814.  John  Lewis,  res.  Oct.  31  1816.  Mo- 
ses Hopper,  res.  Nov.  15  1820.  John  H.  Stanburrough, 
Nov.  15  1820;  prom.  Dec.  9  1823.  John  C.  Doughty, 
Dec.  9  1823;  prom.  Dec.  7  1825.  Thomas  Muir,  Dec. 
7  1825;  prom.  Nov.  8  1828.  William  Minton,  Jan.  30 
1829;  res.  Mch.  4  1835.     Rober:  Muir,  Feb.  27  1840. 

FOURTH    OR     LOWER    REGIMENT. 

Lieutenant-Colonels. — Pruden  Ailing,  June  5  1793; 
prom.  Nov.  13  1800.  Hiram  Smith,  Nov.  13  1800;  res. 
Feb.  26  1801.  John  Darcy,  Feb.  26  1801;  prom.  Nov. 
25  1809.  Lemuel  Cobb,  Nov.  25  1809;  res.  Feb.  17  1815. 
John  S.  Darcy,  Feb.  17  1815;  prom.  Dec.  9  1823.  Eze- 
kiel  B.  Gaines,  Dec.  9  1823;  res.  Dec.  20  1824..  James 
Quiraby,  Dec.  20  1824.  Cornelius  W.  Mandeville,  Mch. 
1  1828;  Francis  Nafee,  Feb.  26  1834.  Samuel  Demo- 
rest,  Feb.  28  1838. 

Majors  1st  Battalion. — Hiram  Smith,  June  5  1793; 
prom.  Nov.  13  1800.  Lemuel  Cobb,  Feb.  26  tSoo; 
prom.  Nov.  25  1809.  Wm.  A.  Mandeville,  Feb.  19  i8ri. 
Ezekiel  B.  Gaines,  Mch.  i  1820;  prom.  Dec.  9  1823. 
Cornelius' W.  Mandeville,  Dec.  9  1823;  prom.  Mch.  i 
1828.  Francis  Neafer  (or  Nafee),  Mch.  i  1828;  prom. 
Feb.  26  1834.     Samuel  F.  Righter,  Feb.  28  1838. 

Majors  2nd  Battalion. — Evert  Van  Gilder,  June  5  1793; 
res.  Feb.  26  1801.  Luke  Miller,  Feb.  26,  1801;  res.  Oct. 
30  1805.  Daniel  Farrand,  Mch.  12  1806;  res.  Feb.  10 
1816.     Josiah    Winds,    Feb.  6    1817.     James   Quimby, 


12 


8o 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


Nov.  23  1821;  prom.  Dec.  20  1824.  Stephen  Young, 
Dec.  7  1825;  res.  Feb.  15  1831.  David  F.  Halsey,  Feb. 
28  1838. 

MORRIS   CAVALRY. 

Lieutenant-Colonels. — Morris  and  Sussex:  Abram  Kin- 
ney. Abraham  Shaver,  Nov.  24  1801;  res.  Oct.  31  1806. 
William  Campfield,  Dec.  2  1807. 

Colonels  ^ih  New  Jersey  Cavalry. — Joseph  Cutler,  Feb. 
13  1818;  prom,  general  of  cavalry  Feb.  23  1843.  Nathan 
A.  Cooper,  Feb.  23  1843;  pi'om.  Daniel  Budd,  Sept.  8 
1857-   . 

Majors  of  Squadron. — William  Campfield,  Oct.  30 
1799;  prom.  Dec.  2  1807.  Isaac  Campfield,  Dec.  2  1807; 
res.  Feb.  3  1811.  David  Mills,  Feb.  3  1811;  res.  Feb.  11 
1818.  William  W.  Miller,  Nov.  23  1822.  Timothy  Con- 
diet,  Dec.  9  1823.  Daniel  C.  Martin,  Feb.  27th  1830; 
res.  Jan.  24  1834.  Nathan  A.  Cooper,  Jan.  24  1834; 
prom.  Feb.  23  1843.  Daniel  Budd  jr.,  Nov.  10  1843; 
prom.  Sept.  8  1857. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war  there  was  a  re- 
vival of  the  militia  system,  and  the  following  appoint- 
ments were  made  in  what  was  called  the  First  regiment: 
George  D.Brewster,  lieutenant-colonel,  Aug.  2  i86i;res. 
Richard  M.  Stites,  major  May  18  1863;  colonel  Mch.  2 
1862;  res.  Joseph  B.  De  Camara,  lieutenant-colonel 
April  12  1862;  res.  John  R.  Runyon,  major  Apr.  12 
1862;  lieutenant-colonel  Sept.  25  1862.  James  M. 
Brown,  colonel  May  18  1863;  res.  Edwin  Bishop,  col- 
onel Aug.  29  1863. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 


OPENING  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR — FIRST  VOLUNTEERS — LADIES 
AID  SOCIETIES. 


r^J-'SN  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  Morris  county  con 
tributed  her  full  share.  When  Sumter  was 
fired  upon  there  were  but  three  uniformed 
militia  companies  in  the  county — the  Na- 
tional Guards  of  Boonton,  Captain  Edwin  K. 
Bishop;  the  Morris  Greys,  Captain  William  Dun- 
can, and  the  Ringgold  Artillery,  Captain  Richard  M. 
Stites.  The  militia  system  had  fallen  into  disuse,  and 
the  parade  of  one  of  these  companies  was  a  novelty. 

On  Monday  evening,  April  22nd  1861,  three  days  after 
the  Baltimore  riot,  a  mass  meeting  was  held  in  Washing- 
ton Hall,  Morristown,  at  which  Hon.  George  T.  Cobb 
presided.  Speeches  were  made  by  Hon.  Jacob  W. 
Miller,  Jacob  Vanatta,  Theodore  Little,  Rev.  G.  D.  Brew- 
erton  and  Colonel  Samuel  F.  Headley.  Patriotic  res- 
olutions of  the  most  decided  character  were  proposed 
and  unanimously  carried.  Unqualified  support  was 
promised  to  the  administration,  and  a  committee  consist- 
ing of  AVilliam  C.  Baker,  Dr.  Ebenezer  B.  Woodruff  and 
Jacob  Vanatta  was  appointed  to  receive  contributions  of 
money  to  aid  in  equipping  volunteers  and  providing  for 
their  families.     Over  $2,600  was  subscribed  on  the  spot. 


This  meeting  was  the  first  of  many  held  throughout  the 
county.  In  every  village  mass  meetings  were  held  and 
flags  were  raised.  A  flag  was  raised  upon  Morris  green 
May  31st  1861,  when  the  companies  of  Captains  Bishop, 
Duncan  and  Stites  paraded  together.  They  soon  after 
disbanded.  Many  of  the  men  had  become  impatient, 
and  in  squads  had  enlisted  in  companies  which  were 
going  to  the  front.  Captain  Bishop  with  part  of  his 
company  went  from  Newark  with  Company  H  of  the  2nd 
New  Jersey. 

For  some  reason  no  sufficient  effort  was  made  to  raise 
a  company  within  the  county,  and  its  young  men  enlisted 
as  volunteers  in  companies  organizing  in  Newton,  Plain- 
field,  Newark  and  New  York.  On  Tuesday,  May  21st, 
Captain  Ryerson's  Company  B,  from  the  2nd  New  Jersey 
volunteers,  passed  through  Morristown  on  its  way  from 
Newton  to  Trenton.  In  it  and  in  Company  I  3d  New 
Jersey  volunteers  there  vi'ere  32  Morris  county  men. 
Others  had  gone  in  Companies  D  of  the  3d  New  Jersey, 
H  of  the  2nd  New  Jersey,  the  Excelsior  brigade  of  New 
York,  etc.  The  following  partial  list  is  taken  from  the 
papers  of  that  time: 

Company  B  2nd  N.  J. —  F.  D.  Sturtevant,  Joseph  G. 
Sturges,  Charles  H.  Carroll,  Silas  R.  Roff,  Charles  H. 
Stephens,  James  Armstrong,  John  W.  Armstrong,  Thomas 
F.  Anderson,  George  McKee  (wounded  in  July  1862), 
Isaac  I.  Tompkins,  Albert  W.  Thompson  (died),  Edward 
Snow,  David  Hart. 

Company  H  2nd  N.  J. —  Emery  A.  Wheeler,  Daniel 
W.  Tunis,  John  S.  Sutton,  Theodore  A.  Baldwin,  Daniel 
Bowditch. 

Company  D  ^d  N.  J. — John  H.  Smith,  George  Blanch- 
ard,  W.  Scott  McGowan,  Anthony  Perrv,  Elijah  Sharp, 
W.  H.  Cole  (killed  September  7  1861),  Sergeant  William 
S.  Earles  (afterward  in  the  15th  N.  J.). 

There  had  also  gone  to  other  companies  or  regiments: 

W.  H.  Alexander,  W.  Beers  and  Lewis  B.  Baldwin, 
Company  K  2nd  N.  J.;  W.  H.  Willis,  Company  I  3d  N. 
J.;  Mahlon  M.  Stage  and  Noah  C.  Haggerty,  Company 
G  ist  N.  J.;  Isaac  King,  James  M.  Stone,  John  Ford  jr., 
Daniel  Guard,  David  Johnson,  William  Hedden,  James 
Dolan,  Edward  Totten,  Hampton  Babbitt,  James  Quim- 
by,  William  Valentine;  Excelsior  brigade — John  Starr 
Jabez  Wingate,  Peter  H.  Flick,  W.  H.  Stickle,  Charles 
H.  Till,  D.  M.  Farrand,  Andrew  Hand,  Augustus  C. 
Stickle  (afterward  adjutant  3d  N.  J.  cavalry).  Sergeant 
Sylvester  L.  Lynn,  Co.  C  8th  N.  J.;  died  Dec.  15  '64  of 
wounds  received  Nov.  5  '64. 

A  Soldiers'  Aid  Society  was  organized  by  the  ladies  of 
Morristown,  of  which  Mrs.  Nelson  Wood  was  president, 
Mrs.  Sherman  Broadwell  vice-president,  Mrs.  Vancleve 
Dalrymple  treasurer,  and  Miss  Robinson  secretary.  The 
society  throughout  the  war  labored  incessantly  in  making 
clothing  etc.  for  the  soldiers  and  raising  money  and  com- 
forts for  the  sick  in  hospital.  Similar  societies,  and  al- 
most if  not  quite  as  efficient,  were  organized  in  all  the 
other  principal  towns  in  the  county. 

May  2nd  186 1  a  home  guard  was  raised  at  Morristown, 
consisting  of  some  of  the  principal  citizens,  many  of  them 
exempt  from  military  service. 

July  nth  1861  a  number  of  youth  organized  them- 
selves into  a  company  called  the  Ellsworth  Light  Infantry 
and  chose  the  following  officers:  Captain,  Rev.  G.  Doug. 


FIRST  UNION  SOLDIERS. 


las  Brewerton;  ist  lieutenant,  Robert  S.  Turner;  2nd 
lieutenant,  John  R.  McCauley  (afterward  of  the  i^th 
N.  J.). 

Among  officers  from  Morris  county  during  the  Rebel- 
lion whose  records  do  not  appear  in  the  rolls  below  were 
Lindley  H.  Miller,  major  46th  infantry  U.  S.  C.  T.;  S. 
G.  I.  De  Camp,  major  and  surgeon,  retired  from  active 
service  August  27th  1862;  General  Ranald  S.  Mackenzie, 
regular  army,  and  Lieutenant  Commander  Henry  W, 
Miller,  U.  S.  navy;  Alexander  S.  Mackenzie,  lieutenant 
U.  S.  N.;  Captain  (afterward  Commodore)  John  De 
Camp,  U.  S.  N.;  Captain  W.  L.  Gamble,  U.  S.  N.;  Major 
Thomas  T.  Gamble,  U.  S.  Vols.  There  were  also  many 
enlisted  men  scattered  among  organizations  of  which  no 
account  is  here  given.  Admirals  C.  R.  P.  Rodgers  and 
William  Radford,  U.  S.  N.  were  residents  of  Morris 
county  previous  to  the  war. 


CHAPTER    XV. 


COMPANY     K     7TH     N.    J. — CAPTAIN     SOUTHARD  S    ENGIN- 
EERS— CAPTAIN     DUNCAN'S     COMPANY. 


N  July  24th  186 1  the  President  made  his  sec- 
ond call  for  three-years  men,  and  the  quota 
allotted  to  this  State  was  four  regiments. 
Under  this  ■  call  Captain  James  M.  Brown 
raised  Company  K  of  the  7th  N.  J.,  the  first 
distinctively  Morris  county  company.  In  the 
first  week  64  men  were  enlisted,  and  the  company 
soon  had  its  full  complement.  The  first  colonel  of  the 
7th  was  Joseph  W.  Revere;  he  was  promoted  brigadier 
general  October  2Sth  1862,  and  was  succeeded  as  colonel 
by  Lewis  R.  Francine,  and  the  latter  in  July  1863  by 
Francis  Price  jr.,  Colonel  Francine  having  been  killed  at 
Gettysburg,  where  Colonel  Price  was  severely  wounded. 
The  latter  was  brevetted  brigadier-general.  Timothy  D. 
Burroughs,  sergeant  in  Company  D,  was  commissioned 
quartermaster  sergeant  September  6th  1864. 

The  men  were  first  together  as  a  company  at  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  Morristown,  on  the  evening  of 
October  ist,  when  Captain  James  M.  Brown  was  pre- 
sented with  sword,  sash  and  pistol,  by  Alfred  Mills,  Esq.; 
and  Rev.  David  Irving  presented  each  member  with  a 
copy  of  the  New  Testament  and  Psalms,  in  behalf  of  the 
Morris  County  Bible  Society.  The  church  was  filled 
with  the  largest  audience  ever  compressed  within  its 
walls,  while  hundreds  left  the  doors  of  the  building, 
unable  to  obtain  standing  room. 

The  next  morning  the  company  started  for  Trenton, 
being  escorted  to  the  depot  by  Fairchild's  drum  corps 
and  by  No.  3  Fire  Engine  Company.  A  large  assemblage 
was  gathered  to  see  the  company  off.  It  was  mustered 
at  Trenton  the  next  day  and  left  the  same  evening  for 
Washington.     There  the  7th   lay  encamped  at  Meridian 


Hill  till  December  1861,  when  it  joined  General  Hooker's 
force  near  Budd's  Ferry,  Md.,  and  was  assigned  to  the 
3d  brigade  of  his  division. 

The  winter  was  spent  in  drilling  and  watching  the 
enemy  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Potomac,  with  the 
monotony  broken  by  frequent  artillery  duels.  April  5th 
Hooker's  division  broke  camp  and  took  transports  to  the 
peninsula.  April  23d  found  this  brigade  throwing  up 
earthworks  under  fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery  at  York- 
town.  May  5th  the  company  fought  at  Williamsburg,  in 
a  drenching  rain,  where  the  men  stood  their  ground  after 
their  ammunition  was  used  up,  taking  more  from  the 
dead  and  wounded.  They  were  under  fire  five  hours 
without  getting  relieved.  Captain  Brown  was  very 
severely  wounded;  Corporal  Joseph  S.  Watkins  was 
mortally  wounded,  dying  May  31st  following.  Several 
others  were  wounded.  In  the  Excelsior  brigade  Jabez 
C.  Wingate,  Peter  H.  Flick  and  W.  H.  Stickle  were  killed, 
and  four  other  Morris  county  men  wounded.  The 
company  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks  and  the 
Seven  Days'  fight.  After  lying  at  Harrison's  Landing 
until  August  isth  the  division  retraced  its  steps  to 
Yorktown  and  took  transports,  arriving  at  Alexandria 
August  24th.  August  26th  the  7th  went  by  rail  to  War- 
renton  Junction.  Hooker's  division  marched  the  next 
morning  down  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad  to 
Bristow  Station,  attacked  Ewell's  division  of  Jackson's 
command,  drove  him  toward  Bull  Run  and  captured  his 
baggage.  August  29th  and  30th  the  7th  took  part  in  the 
second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  and  September  ist  in  the 
battle  of  Chantilly,  where  General  Phil.  Kearney  was 
killed.  After  this  the  company  did  guard  duty  along  the 
Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad  until  November  28th, 
when  it  started  for  Falmouth,  reaching  that  place  some 
two  weeks  before  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  and 
taking  part  in  it. 

At  Chancellorsville,  May  5th  1863,  the  7th  regiment 
captured  five  colors  and  three  hundred  prisoners  from 
the  enemy.  The  flags  were  taken  from  the  1st  Louisiana, 
2 ist  Virginia,  2nd  and  i8th  North  Carolina  and  an 
Alabama  regiment.  The  2nd  North  Carolina  regiment 
was  captured  almost  entire. 

The  next  move  for  Company  K  was  the  long  march  to 
Gettysburg,  and  on  July  2nd  the  regiment,  supported  a 
battery  near  the  peach  orchard,  when  the  enemy  charged 
on  the  3d  corps,  of  which  the  7th  was  a  part.  Company 
K  lost  15  men  wounded  (three  mortally),  and  two  taken 
prisoners,  on  the  first  day  of  the  battle.  The  captain 
and  both  lieutenants  were  wounded.  With  a  second  ser- 
geant in  command  the  company  was  in  the  fight  of  the 
next  day. 

The  next  engagement  in  which  the  7th  took  part  was 
at  Manassas  Gap,  Virginia,  and  after  that  it  was  engaged 
at  McLean's  Ford  in  the  Bull  Run  River,  with  some 
mounted  infantry.  Next  came  the  battle  of  Mine  Run, 
and  then  winter  quarters  at  Brandy  Station.  The  New 
Jersey  brigade  was  now  in  the  2nd  army  corps. 

May  4th  1864  the  troops  broke  camp,  and  on  May  5lh, 
6th  and  7th  we  find  Company  K  fighting  in  the  Wilder- 


History  of  morris  county. 


ness,  a  densely  wooded  tract  of  table-land  stretching 
from  the  Rapidan  almost  to  Spottsylvania  Court-house. 
May  8th  the  regiment  moved  to  a  spot  near  Todd's 
Tavern,  where  it  remained  until  the  loth,  when  (our 
army  having  cleared  the  Wilderness  and  concentrated 
around  Spottsylvania  Court-house)  it  took  a  position 
on  the  right.  On  the  nth  the  company  was  under 
heavy  fire,  and  at  dawn  of  the  12th  of  May  the 
2nd  corps  charged  the  enemy,  capturing  30  cannon 
and  Johnson's  rebel  division.  In  this  battle  —  the 
severest  of  the  war — the  7th  New  Jersey  met  with 
severe  loss  in  officers  and  men.  The  regiment 
aided  in  hauling  off  the  captured  guns,  and  Captain 
Crane,  of  Company  C,  of  Morris  county,  with  a  squad  of 
his  men,  succeeded  in  manning  one  of  the  captured 
guns  and  training  it  on  the  enemy.  For  hours  the  fight 
raged  with  unexampled  fury,  and  it  was  not  until  mid- 
night that  General  Lee  left  the  victors  in  possession  of 
the  works  captured.  On  the  15th  the  brigade  was  called 
upon  to  repel  an  attack  on  our  pickets,  and  met  with 
some  loss.  May  i6th,  at  North  Anna  River,  the  company 
was  again  under  fire,  a  division  of  Longstreet's  corps 
having  possession  of  both  sides  of  Chesterfield  bridge. 
On  May  26th  the  regiment  took  part  in  the  flank  move- 
ment toward  Richmond,  skirmishing  along  the  Tolopoto- 
my  and  reaching  Cold  Harbor,  where,  on  June  3d,  it 
participated  in  the  assault  upon  the  enemy's  main  line. 
On  the  7th  of  June  the  brigade  was  entrenched  at  Baker's 
Mills,  and  from  this  point  it  moved  swiftly  to  the  James, 
crossed  the  river  June  14th,  and  arrived  before  Peters- 
burg the  following  day,  supporting  Smith's  corps  of 
Butler's  army.  On  the  16th  General  Grant  delivered  an 
assault  with  all  his  forces.  The  fight  was  desperate,  and 
the  loss  to  the  7th  N.  J.  was  very  severe.  On  the  i8th 
General  Grant  ordered  another  assault,  when  the  enemy's 
lines  were  pushed  back  three  quarters  of  a  mile.  Later 
in  the  day  the  brigade  charged  again  in  front  of  the 
Hare  House,  but  was  swept  back  by  a  withering  fire,  leav- 
ing its  dead  and  wounded  between  tlie  two  lines.  Hun- 
dreds of  the  wounded  died  in  sight  and  hearing  of  their 
comrades,  crying  out  for  help  and  for  water;  they  could 
not  be  reached,  the  enemy  refusing  a  flag  of  truce. 

June  23d,  General  Grant  having  determined  to  turn 
the  enemy's  right,  the  corps  advanced  through  a  wooded 
country,  and,  as  it  failed  to  make  connection  with  the 
6th  corps,  the  enemy  got  in  the  rear,  capturing  eight 
prisoners  from  Company  K.  The  corps  fell  back  and 
established  a  line  a  little  further  to  the  rear.  The  brig- 
ade remained  in  the  trenches  until  July  12th.  On  the 
26th  it  crossed  the  James  to  Deep  Bottom,  where  the 
corps  attacked  the  enemy  and  captured  four  cannon.  It 
then  quietly  returned  to  Petersburg,  and  held  the  front 
line  of  works  when  the  mine  was  exploded,  July  30th. 

August  1 2th  the  corps  moved  again  to  Deep  Bottom, 
with  more  or  less  skirmishing  and  fighting.  This  was  a 
feint  to  try  to  make  the  rebel  authorities  recall  their 
troops  from  before  Washington.  August  i8th  the  New 
Jersey  7th,  with  the  rest  of  the  corps,  returned  to  the 
entrenchments. 


August  2Sth  the  regiment  was  moved  to  Ream's  Sta- 
tion to  help  the  remainder  of  the  corps,  which  was  en- 
gaged there.  The  next  affair  in  which  the  7th  took  part 
was  the  advance  of  the  picket  lines  about  i  o'clock  a.  m. 
of  September  loth.  The  picket  duty  was  dangerous  here. 
The  regiment  when  not  on  picket  was  quartered  in  Fort 
Davis,  on  the  Jerusalem  plank  road,  but  even  there 
stray  balls  would  come  into  the  tents  at  night,  wound- 
ing men  oftentimes  while  sleeping. 

October  7th  Lieutenant  Gaines  and  the  old  members 
of  Company  K — about  eight  in  number — who  did  not  re- 
enlist,  were  mustered  out  of  service  at  Trenton,  and, 
honorably  discharged,  returned  to  their  homes. 

With  Colonel  Price  still  commanding,  the  regiment 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Hatcher's  Run,  and  in  the  last 
campaign,  culminating  in  the  surrender  of  General  Lee, 
April  gth  1865. 

During  the  war  this  company  took  part  in  the  follow- 
ing engagements,  all  in  Virginia  excepting  Gettysburg: 

Siege  of  Yorktown,  April  and  May  1862;  Williams- 
burg, May  5th  1862;  Fair  Oaks,  June  ist  and  2nd  1862; 
Seven  Pines,  June  25th  1862;  Savage  Station,  June  29th 
1862;  Glendale,  June  3olh  1862;  Malvern  Hill,  July  ist 
and  August  5th  1862;  Bristow  Station,  August  27th 
1862;  Bull  Run  (second),  August  29th  and  30th  1862; 
Chantilly,  September  ist  1862;  Centreville,  September 
2nd  1862;  Fredericksburg,  December  13th  and  14th 
1862;  Chancellorsville,  May  3d  and  4th  1863;  Gettys- 
burg, July  2nd  and  3d  1863;  Wapping  Heights,  July  24th 
1863;  McLean's  Ford,  October  15th  1863;  Mine  Run, 
November  29th  and  30th  and  December  ist  1863;  Wil- 
derness, May  5th-7th  1864;  Spottsylvania,  May  8th-i8th 
1864;  North  Anna  River,  May  23d  and  24th  1864;  To- 
lopotomy  Creek,  May  30th  and  31st  1864;  Cold  Harbor, 
June  ist-5th  1864;  Before  Petersburg,  June  i6th-23d 
and  July  30th  1864;  Deep  Bottom,  July  26th  and  27th 
1864;  North  Bank  of  James  River,  August  isth-i8th 
1864;  Fort  Sedgwick,  September  loth  1864;  Poplar 
Spring  Church,  October  2nd  1864;  Boydton  Plank  Road 
(capture  of  Petersburg),  April  2nd  1865;  Amelia  Springs, 
April  6th  1865;  Farmville,  April  6th  and  7th  1865;  Ap- 
pomattox, April  9th  1865. 

COMPANY   K.* 

OFFICERS. 

In  the  following  record  of  the  officers  of  Company  K 
the  first  date  given  is  that  of  commission  or  enrollment. 
If  another  immediately  follows  it  is  the  date  of  muster. 
Where  but  one  is  given  the  two  date  were  the  same.  The 
period  for  which  the  officer  entered  the  service  was  three 
years,  when  not  otherwise  mentioned. 

Cfl/to«.f.— James  M.  Brown,  Oct.  3  '61;  wounded  at 
Williamsburg  and  Fredericksburg;  prom,  major  icth 
reg.  July  21  '62.  William  R.  Hillyer,  July  21  '62  Jan 
13  '63;  appointed  ist  lieut.  Oct.  3  '61;  dis.  Sept.  9  '64  for 
wounds.  Sylvester  W.  Nafew,  Mar.  28  '65,  Apr  20  '6<- 
m.  o.  July  17  '65.  i'     3' 

First  Lieutenants.— Michatl    Mullery,  July  21  '62   Jan 
13  '63;  appointed  2nd  lieut.  Oct.  3  '61;  captain  Company 
1  July  24  63;  wounded  at  Gettysburg;  killed  at  Peters- 


*  In  all  these  lists  the  following  abbreviations  are  used,  besides  tho=e 
which  will  be  recognized  as  denoting  the  different  ranks  and  arms  of 
the  service:  pro.,  promoted;  v.r.  c,  veteran  reserve  corps;  die,  dis- 
charged ;  m.  o.,  mustered  out ;  dr.,  drafted :  tr.,  transferred. 


COMPANY  K  SEVENTH  N.  J.  VOLUNTEERS. 


burg.     Stanley  Gaines,    Aug.    i    '63,    Mar.    31   '64;    ap- 

appointed  ist  sergt.  Sept.  15  '6j;    2nd  lieut.  July  21  '62; 

wounded  at  Gettysburg;  m.  o.   Oct.  7  '64.     Henry  W. 

Baldwin,  Apr.  29  '65,  May  19th  '65;  m.  o.  July  22  '65. 
Second  Lieutenants. — Ellis    T.  Armstrong,  Dec.  21  '63, 

Mar.  31  '64;  appointed  sergt.  Sept.  15  '61;   ist  sergt.  July 

21  '62;    re-enlisted    Jan.    4  '64;    dis.    Aug.    17  '64   for 

wounds.     George  H.  Millen,  Mar.  28  '65,  Apr.  14  '65; 

m.  o.  July  17  '65. 

First  Sergeants. — Napoleon  B.  Post,  Aug.  22  '61;  m.o. 

July  22  '65. 

Sergeants. — Merritt   Bruen,  Sept.   15  '61,  Oct.  2    '61; 

pro.  Q.  M.  sergt.  Nov.  22  '61;  quartermaster  June  27  '64; 

died  at  Petersburg.     Ira  W.  Corey,  Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  2 

'61;  pro.  capt.  Co.  H  nth  reg.  Aug.  15  '62.     Samuel  R. 

Connett,  Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  2  '61;  pro.  2nd  lieut.  Co.  C 
TSth    reg.    Aug.    12    '62;     wounded    at    Williamsburg. 

Stephen  H.  Bruen,  Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  2  '61  ;•  pro. 
com.  sergt.  Sept.  i  '62;  quartermaster  Aug.  26  '64. 
Timothy  D.  Burroughs,  Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  2  '61;  re- 
enlisted  Jan.  4  '64;  pro.  Q.  M.  sergt.  Sept.  6  '64.  Con- 
rad F.  Smith,  Mar.  2  '65,  i  year;  m.  o.  July  17  '65. 
Julius  B.  Bartlett,  Mar.  2  '65,  i  year;  m.  o.  July  10  '65. 
Eugene  Pollard,  Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  2  '61;  appointed  cnrp. 
Aug.  4  '62;  re-enlisted  Jan.  4  '64;  prom.  com.  sergt.  Oct. 
2  '64;  wounded  at  Gettysburg  and  Chesterfield  Bridge. 

Corporals. — Calvin  T.  Stickle,  Mar.  4  '65,  i  year;  tn.  o. 
July  17  '65.  John  P.  Smith,  Mar.  2  '65,  i  year;  m.  o. 
July  17  '65.  Peter  Fisher,  Mar.  2  '65,  i  year;  m.  o.  July 
17  '65.  Patrick  Cavanaugh,  Mar.  i  '65,  i  year;  m.  o. 
July  17  '65.     James  E.  Babbitt. 

JDischarged. — (These,  as  also  those  transferred  and 
deceased,  were  all  three-years  men,  and  were  commis- 
sioned or  enrolled  Sept.  15,  and  mustered  Oct.  2,  1861.) 
Sergt.  Joseph  D.  Marsh  jr.;  dis.  Oct.  13  '62,  for  dis- 
ability. Corporals:  George  Kingsland;  dis.  Mar.  24  '63, 
for  disability.  Theodore  W.  Bruen;  dis.  Jan.  12  '63,  for 
disability.  John  J.  Gruber;  dis.  Feb.  5  '63,  to  join 
regular  army;  appointed  corp.  Aug.  4  '62.  Musician 
James  M.  Woodruff;  dis.  Nov.  30  '61,  for  disability. 
Wagoner  Charles  B.  Trelease;  dis.  June  15  '62,  for  dis- 
ability. 

Transferred. — Sergeants:  William  McKee;  to  v.  r.  c, 
Sept.  30  'dy,  dis.  therefrom  Oct.  i  '64;  wounded  at 
Chancellorsville.  Joseph  Ward;  to  Co.  C,  Oct.  i  '64; 
re-enlisted  Jan.  2  '64.  Edwin  Hall;  to  Co.  C;  re- 
enlisted  Jan.  4  '64.  Sylvester  L.  Lynn;  to  Co.  C;  re- 
enlisted  Jan.  4  '64;'  killed  before  Petersburg.  George 
H.  Millen;  to  Co.  C;  re-enlisted  Jan.  4  '64.  Cor- 
porals: Theodore  P.  Bayles;  to  v.  r.  c,  Sept.  30  '63; 
dis.  therefrom  Nov.  24  '65.  George  W.  Derrickson;  to 
v.  r.  c,  Sept.  30  '63;  re-enlisted  Sept.  3  '64;  dis.  as  sergt. 
July  6  '65.  B.  W.  Dempsey;  to  Co.  C,  Oct.  i  '64;  re- 
enlisted  Jan.  4  '64;  prisoner  at  Andersonville.  John  L. 
Denton;  to  v.  r.  c,  Mar.  31  '64;  dis.  Oct.  3  '64;  wounded 
at  Gettysburg.  Abel  Gruber;  to  Co.  C;  wounded  at 
Gettysburg;  captured  before  Gettysburg;  confined  at 
Andersonville.      Musician  A.  L.  D.  Miller;    to  5th  reg. 

band. 

ZlzVi/.— Corporals  :  Joseph  S.  Watkins;  at  Fortress 
Monroe,  Va.,  May  31  '62,  of  wounds.  Andrew  C. 
Halsey;  at  Washington,  June  20  '64,  of  wounds;  re- 
enlisted  Jan.  4  '64;  appointed  corp.  Feb.  6  '64.  Joseph 
O.  Spencer;  killed  before  Petersburg,  Va.,  June  16  '64; 
appointed  corp.  Mar.  i  '()z;  re-enlisted  Jan.  4  '64.  Mu- 
.sician  George  W.  Cranraer;  at  Budd's  Ferry,  Md.,  June 
24  '62,  of  typhoid  fever. 

PRIVATES. 

In  the  following  list  the  figure  following  the  name  indi- 
cates the  number  of  years  for  which  the  man  enlisted. 


Where  not  otherwise  noted  those  who  enlisted  for  three 
years  were  enrolled  Sept.  15th  and  mustered  in  Oct.  2nd 
1861  and  mustered  out  Oct.  7th  1864;  and  those  who 
enlisted  for  one  year  were  enrolled  and  mustered  in  the 
first  week  of  March  1865  and  mustered  out  July  17th 
1865. 

Henry  Angleman.  Andrew  Anderson,  i;  m.  o,  June 
13  '65.  Leo  Bachtold,  i.  J.  C.  Ballentine,  3;  pro.  com. 
sergt.  Nov.  i  '62.  William  Bassell,  i.  Henry  Baum,  i. 
William  W.  Brant,  3.  Austin  Brown,  i.  John  N.  and  T. 
W.  Bruen,  3.  Stephen  A.  Cannon,  3.  Joseph  Carmon. 
David  Cargill,  i;  m.  o.  July  14  '65.  Waldemar  Chris- 
tianson,  i.  John  Cronin,  i.  George  Curtis,  musician,  i. 
Christian  Doublin,  i.  W.  H.  Dutcher.  Hey  ward  G. 
Emmel,  3;  wounded  at  Chancellorsville.  Henry  Feeder, 
i;  m.  o.  July  22  '65.  Charles  Fischer,  i.  George 
Flandrow,  i.  Augustus  I.  FoUiot.  John  Gamble,  i. 
Abraham  Garrabrant,  i.  Christopher  Gerhardt,  i.  Emile 
Grell,  I.  Edward  Gross,  i.  Jacob  Haider,  i.  John 
H.  Haley,  3.  William  Harrison,  i.  Samuel  Hess,  i. 
Lewis  Herman,  i;  enrolled  and  mustered  in 
Aug.  29  '64;  m.  o.  June  30  '65.  George  Hiller,  i. 
Wesley  D.  Hopping.  Daniel  Jackson,  3.  Jacob  James, 
i;  enrolled  and  mustered  in  Feb.  28 '65.  Jacob  John, 
i;  m.  o.  Aug.  11  '65.  John  G.  Kaut,  i.  Peter  B. 
Kelly.  Christopher  Killian,  i.  William  Killian,  i. 
Jacob  Koch,  I.  John  Lay,  i.  William  Lehman,  i; 
m.  o.  Aug.  30  '65.  James  Lord,  i.  Andrew  Mack,  i. 
John  McCasey,  i.  Lewis  H.  McClintock,  i.  Frederick 
Miller,  i.  J.  L.  Miller.  John  Murphy,  i.  Thomas 
R.  Murray,  x.  John  Narin,  i.  Charles  W.  Nelson,  mu- 
sician, I.  Loren  Nichols,  i.  Calvin  Nix,  3;  wounded 
at  Williamsburg.  George  Norton,  i;  m.  o.  June  5  '65. 
Joseph  Parker,  i.  John  Partenfielder,  i.  August  Par- 
tushcky,  I.  Adolph  Pineus,  i.  Francis  A.  Pollard,  3; 
appointed  sergt.  Sept.  13  '61;  deserted  Jan.  30 '63;  re- 
turned Mar.  20;  private  Feb.  i  '63.  Henry  Roberts,  i. 
Hugh  P.  Roden,  musician,  3.  Samuel  Rushton,  i.  John 
Rutan,  3.  August  Sauer,  i.  Matthias  Schmidt,  i. 
George  Schnabel,  i.  Frederick  Schroder,  i.  Daniel 
Settler,  i.  Charles  Smith,  i.  Gilbert  Smith,  i;  enrolled 
and  mustered  in  Feb.  28  '65.  James  Smith,  i.  William 
T.  Spencer,  3;  prom,  sergt.  maj.  Nov.  5  '63.  David 
Thompson,  i.  John  Thompson,  i.  Headly  Thompson; 
captured  before  Petersburg.  William  Till,  3.  Charles 
Tucker,  3.  John  Wander,  i;  enrolled  and  mustered  in 
Feb.  27  '65.  Mark  White,  i.  Joseph  Ward;  captured 
at  Gettysburg.  Henry  Wilson,  i;  enrolled  and  mus- 
tered in  Feb.  25  '65  for  2  years;  m.  o.  May  31  '65.  John 
Wolf,  I.  George  Yetter,  i;  enrolled  and  mustered  in 
Feb.  28  '65;  m.  o.  June  5  '65. 

Discharged. — (These  were  all  three-years  men,  and 
most  of  them  were  enrolled  Sept.  15  and  mustered  in 
Oct.  2  '61;  any  other  date  of  enrollment  or  muster  is 
given  after  the  name.  The  cause  of  discharge  if  not 
otherwise  stated  was  disability).  Isaac  N.  Abrams;  dis. 
May  20  '62.  Isaac  J.  Archer,  Feb.  8  '62;  dis.  Oct.  9  '62. 
Nicholas  Atkins;  dis.  June  9  '62.  Charles  Conklin;  dis. 
Aug.  18  '62.  William  Cook,  Aug.  19  '62;  dis.  Feb.  9*63. 
Alexander  Davenport;  dis.  June  g  '62.  George  Dunster. 
Andrew  W.  Gary;  dis.  Nov.  5  '62.  Orlando  K.  Guerin; 
dis.  Oct.  13  '62.  George  Hedden;  dis.  June  13  '62. 
John  Hunton,  Apr.  12  '64;  dis.  May  28  '64.  Charles 
Johnson;  dis.  Mar.  4  '63;  wounded  at  Bristow  Station. 
Hiram  Kayhart;  dis.  June  13  '62.  John  F.  Kent; 
dis.  June  25  '62.  John  Knapp  ;  dis.  June  13 
'62.  Thomas  Lynch;  dis.  Nov.  5  '62,  from  wounds 
received  at  Williamsburg,  Va.  James  L.  Marsh; 
dis.  June  9  '62.  Aaron  Parsons;  dis.  Dec.  29  '62; 
wounded  at  Williamsburg.      Theodore  Searing,  Aug.  18 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


'62;  dis.  Nov.  20  '63;  wounded  at  Gettysburg.  Thomas 
Seeley,  Feb.  22  '64;  dis.  Apr.  2  '64.  Henry  Smith;  dis. 
Nov.  30 '61.  John  C.  Smith;  dis.  Sept.  2 '62;  prom,  lieut. 
33d  N.  J.  Alonzo  Tompkins;  dis.  Feb.  5  '63,  to  join 
regular  army.  Anthony  Van  Order;  dis.  June  23  '62. 
John  H.  Webb,  Feb.  3  '64;  dis.  Apr.  2  '64.  James 
Wright;  dis.  Dec.  12  '61. 

Transferred. — (The  date  immediately  following  the 
name  in  this  list  is  that  of  enrollment;  the  second  date, 
if  any,  is  that  of  muster  in;  where  but  one  is  given  they 
were  the  same.  The  figure  following  the  date  indicates 
the  number  of  years  for  which  the  man  enlisted.  In 
most  cases  the  transfer  was  to  Co.  C,  Oct.  i  '64,  and  that 
will  be  understood  to  be  the  case  where  not  otherwise 
stated).  Lemuel  Adams,  Feb.  17  '62,  3.  George  F. 
Bayles,  Dec.  11  '61,  3;  to  v.  r.  c;  dis.  Dec.  12  '64; 
wounded.  Gilbert  D.  Blanchard,  Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  2 
'61,  3;  died  at  Andersonville.  Loran  L.  Bodeli,  Aug. 
19  '63,  Aug.  20  '63,  3;  to  V.  r.  c,  Jan.  15  '64;  cjis.  as  corp. 
July  25  '65.  Elijah  D.  Bruen,  Jan.  23  '62,  3;  to  Co.  C, 
Oct.  I  '64;  re-enlisted  Feb.  14  '64;  died  at  Ander- 
sonville. Nathan  Buell,  Oct.  7  '63,  Oct.  8  '63, 
3.  Orson  T.  Crane,  June  15  '64,  3;  to  Co. 
C.  John  Cusick,  Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  2  '61,  3; 
re-enlisted  Jan.  4  '64.  Charles  H.  Davis,  Aug.  18  '62, 
Aug.  19  '62,  3.  Augustus  De  Forrest,  Sept.  15  '61,  Oct. 
2  '61,  3;  re-enlisted  Jan.  4  '64.  Aaron  S.  Degroot,  Jan. 
28  '64,  3;  wounded  near  Cold  Harbor.  James  Dona- 
hue, Feb.  3  '64,  3.  Joseph  J.  Dunn,  Jan.  28  '64,  3. 
Matthias  Everson,  Jan.  28  '64,  3.  John  Farrell,  Dec.  29 
'63,  Dec.  30  '63,  3.  Abraham  K.  Ferris,  Sept.  15  '5i, 
Oct.  2  '61,  3;  to  v.  r.  c.  Mar.  31  '64;  re-enlisted  May  6 
'64;  dis.  Oct.  27 '66;  appointed  corp.  Sept.  15 '61;  private 
Nov.  I  '63.  William  J.  Flanagan,  Dec.  30  '63,  Dec.  31 
'63,  3.  Arthur  Ford,  Feb.  3  '64,  3;  died  at  Andersonville. 
Daniel  Frazier,  Dec.  28  '63,  3.  James  Haley,  Feb.  5  '64, 
]''eb.  6  '64,  3.  Stephen  D.  Hall,  Jan.  21  '64,  3.  Daniel 
Hand,  Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  2  '6r,  3;  re-enlisted  -Mar.  10*64; 
wounded  before  Petersburg.  James  Hart,  Sept.  3  '64, 
I.  Ansemas  Helbert,  Jan.  23  '64,  Jan.  26  '64,  3.  Theo- 
dore Jacobus,  Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  '61,  3;  to  v.  r.  c;  dis. 
Oct.  5  '64.  Peter  M.  Kane,  Oct.  6  '62,  3;  wounded  at 
Gettysburg  and  Spottsylvania.  Farrand  S.  Kitchel,  Jan.  4 
'64,  3.  John  Landigan,  Feb.  i  '64,  3.  William  E.  Loper, 
Feb.  8  '64,  3.  John  L.  Loree,  Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  2  '61,  3;  re- 
enlisted  Jan.  4 '64.  William  Loughran,  Mar.i6  '65,1;  to  Co. 
A.  George  T.  Lynch,  Dec.  30  '63,  3;  to  Co.  B.  Thomas 
Mack,  Apr.  8  '65,  3;  to  Co.  B.'  James  Maher,  Apr.  8 
'65,  i;  to  Co.  G.  James  McKenzie,  Mar.  i  '65,  i;  to 
Co.  G.  Thomas  McKnight,  Feb.  15  '64,  3;  to  Co.  C. 
John  Moran,  Sept.  5  '64,  1;  to  Co.  K,  12th  reg.  Pat- 
rick Murphy,  Mar.  4  '65,  i;  to  Co.  D.  Benjamin  Norton, 
Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  2  '61,  3;  re-enlisted  Jan.  4  '64.  Wil- 
liam E."  Phipps,  Feb.  23  '64,  3.  John  J.  Provost,  Feb.  11 
'64,  3;  to  Co.  H.  John  A.  Recanio,  Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  2 
'61,  3;  captured  at  Gettysburg;  died  in  Belle  Isle 
prison.  John  Sergeant,  Feb.  2  '64,  3.  Thomas  K.  Sex- 
ton, Feb.  22,  '64,  3.  Richard  Shannon,  Apr.  11  '65,  i; 
to  Co.  G.  Lionel  Sheldon,  Sept.  29  '63,  Sept.  30  '63,  3. 
George  Shipman,  Nov.  7  '62,  3;  to  v.  r.  c.  Feb.  15  '64; 
deserted  Oct.  7  '64.  John  Slingerland,  Sept.  15  '61, 
Oct.  2  '61;  wounded  at  Williamsburg;  deserted 
Nov.  I  '62  ;  returned  to  duty  Apr.  7  '63  ;  re- 
enlisted  Jan.  4  '64.  Theodore  F.  Smith,  Sept.  15  '61, 
Oct.  2  '61,  3;  re-enlisted  Jan.  4  '64.  John  Speer,  Dec. 
31  '63,  3-  Isaac  Steelman,  Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  2  '61,  3; 
to  V.  r.  c.  Jan.  15  '64;  dis.  Oct.  i  '64.  Chilion  Thomp- 
son, Jan.  21  '64,"  3.  David  H.  Thompson,  Sept.  15  '61, 
Oct.  2  '61,  3.  John  W.  Till,  Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  2  '61,  3; 
re-enlisted  Jan.  4  '64.  De  Witt  Van  Order,  Sept.  15  '61, 
Oct.  2  '61,  3;    appointed  corp.  Aug.  3   62;    private  May 


15  '63;  re-enlisted  Jan.  4 '64.  Jacob  C.  Vanderhoof, 
Sept.  15  '61,  Oct.  2  '61,  3;  to  V.  r.  c.  Sept.  i  '63;  dis.  Oct. 
10  '64,  Theodore  Van  Pelt,  Jan.  27  '64,  Jan.  28  '64,  3. 
Jacob  F.  Welsh,  Apr.  8*65,  i;  to  Co.  E.  John  W. 
Wilday,  Jan.  27  '64,  3.  James  H.  Woodruff,  Jan.  18  '64, 
3.     John  W.  Wright,  Feb.  2  '64,  3. 

Died. — (These,  with  two  exceptions,  which  are  indi- 
cated, were  three-years  men.  The  date  immediately 
following  the  name  is  that  of  enrollment  and  muster  in. 
When  this  is  omitted  the  man  was  enrolled  Sept.  15  and 
mustered  Oct.  2  '61.)  Theron  A.  Allen,  of  fever,  at  Jer- 
sey City,  June  7  '62.  Drake  Aumick,  Dec.  31  '63;  died 
at  Washington,  D.  C,  June  24  '64.  Edgar  Barber,  Dec. 
22  '63;  killed  at  Wilderness,  Va.,  May  5  '64.  Charles  Y. 
Beers,  Aug.  18  '62;  died  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  6  '63, 
of  wounds.  Jabez  Beers,  Jan,  28  '64;  killed  before 
Petersburg,  Va.,  June  16  '64.  Moses  A.  Berry,  of  pneu- 
monia, at  camp  on  lower  Potomac,  Md.,  Jan.  29  '62. 
George  W.  Blakely,  at  New  York,  July  28  '62.  Cyrus 
Carter,  of  disease,  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  Dec.  6  '62.  Albert 
T.  Emory,  Feb.  i  '64;  died  at  Washington,  D.  C,  July  i 
'64.  Jacob  S.  Hopping,  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  i6  '62,, 
of  wounds  received  there.  Robert  L.  Jolly;  appointed 
corp.  Sept.  15  '61;  sergt.  Aug.  4*62;  private  May  15  '63; 
died  at  Gettysburg,  July  22  '(>i,  of  wounds  received 
there.  Hendrick  Kinklin,  Mar.  2  '65,  i  year;  died  of 
dysentery  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  July  3  '65.  William  Long, 
at  Fairfax  Court-house,  Va.,  Aug.  31  '62.  John  R.  Lyon, 
Sept.  3  '62,  of  wounds  received  at  Bull  Run,  Va.  Lemuel 
A.  Marshall,  Mar.  22  '62;  died  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
Nov.  I  '62.  John  McDonough,  Dec.  22  'by,  died  at 
Washington,  May  26  '64,  of  wounds  received  at  Spott- 
sylvania, Va.  Charles  B.  Molt;  killed  at  Chancellors- 
ville,  Va.,  May  3  '63.  George  W.  Peer,  at'Yorktown, 
Va.,  May  13  '62,  of  typhoid  fever.  Allen  H.  Pierson, 
near  Petersburg,  Va.,  June  19  '64,  of  wounds  received 
before  Petersburg  June  17;  re-enlisted  Mar.  10  '64. 
Spafford  Sanders,  of  typhoid  fever,  at  Budd's  Ferry,  Md., 
Apr.  19  '62.  John  H.  Tillotson,  of  typhoid  fever,  at 
Budd's  Ferry,  Md.,  Apr.  28  '62.  Jacob  Wilse)',  Mar.  i 
'65,  I  year;  died  at  Alexandria,  July  6  '65.  Joseph  C. 
Spencer;  killed  before  Petersburg.  James  M.  Woodruff; 
killed  at  Mine  Run. 

CAPTAIN   SOUTHARD'S   ENGINEERS. 

The  next  company  to  leave  the  county  was  that  of 
Major  (then  Lieutenant)  H.  M.  Dalrymple,  who  raised  a 
part  of  Captain  Southard's  company  for  the  8th  engineer 
corps — Company  K  of  the  ist  regiment  of  New  York 
engineers.  The  company  was  entirely  made  up  of  New 
Jersey  men.  Its  captain,  Henry  L.  Southard,  was  a  Jer- 
seyman  by  birth  and  son  of  the  late  Senator  Southard  of 
this  State.  He  was  killed  while  on  duty  at  Bermuda 
Hundred,  Va.,  in  May  1864.  Lieutenant  Henry  M.  Dal- 
rymple, also  adjutant  of  the  regiment,  succeeded  to  the 
command  and  retained  it  during  the  operations  in  front 
of  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  until  mustered  out  of  ser- 
vice in  December  1864,  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
three  years'  service. 

The  company  served  with  the  regiment  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  South,  engaging  in  all  the  various  operations 
under  Generals  Sherman,  Hunter,  Mitchell  and  Gilmore. 
It  participated  in  the  siege  of  Pulaski,  the  battle  of 
Pocataligo,  the  expedition  to  Charleston  under  Hunter, 
and  the  siege  of  Fort  Sumter  and  Charleston  under  Gen- 
eral Gilmore,  erecting  the  famous  Swamp  Angel  battery, 


UNION  COMPANIES  FROM  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


85 


which  threw  the  first  messengers  of  death  into  Charles- 
ton. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1864  the  regiment  was  ordered 
to  the  Army  of  the  James  at  Fortress  Monroe  and  Ber- 
muda Hundred,  and  did  hard  work  under  General  Grant 
in  his  operations  in  front  of  Petersburg  and  Rich- 
mond. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  names  of  the  Morris  county 
volunteers  who  entered  this  company: 

Henry  M.  Dalrymple,  Frederic  B.  Dalrymple,  John 
Franks,  Samuel  McNair,  William  H.  Lounsbury,  Hiram 
Tharp,  Joseph  Scudder,  Wellinpiton  Bryant,  Amadee  B. 
Pruden,  Edward  De  Camp,  Wesley  Chidester,  Mahlon 
Parsons,  William  H.  Porter,  Thomas  M.  Palmer,  John 
Wright,  Charles  J.  Pownall,  William  G.  Denman,  George 
W.  Skillborn,  Charles  Stevens,  Edward  Tucker,  William 
Thompson,  John  W.  Mills,  Elijah  W.  Grandin,  Benja- 
min C.  Durham,  William  Tuttle,  Jacob  B.  Willis,  Alvah 
Handville,  John  Oliver,  Daniel  Brown,  William  S.  Can- 
non, Edward  Cobbett,  Edward  W.  Cobbett,  Moses  Corby, 
James  K.  Dalrymple,  Caleb  M.  Emmons,  Alonzo  Edgar, 
Evans  Jones,  Abram  Kinnecutt,  Ira  Lewis,  George  W. 
Lewis,  George  Lindsley,  Thomas  Levigs,  Joseph  Miller, 
James  McCormick,  William  McQuaid,  Theodore  Nun- 
gesser,  John  N.  Nungesser,  Thomas  N.  Nichols,  William 
H.  Tucker,  Edward  Tester,  James  Tyms,  Charles  M. 
Thomas,  Samuel  Tebo,  George  Vanderhoof,  Lewis  Weise, 
John  Powers,  George  L.  Valentine,  James  C.  Vale, 
Thomas  E.  Wolfe,  Edward  Wolfe,  Charles  Lewis,  Manuel 
Decker. 

THE   PRESIDENT'S   GUARD. 

Captain  William  Duncan,  of  the  Morris  Greys,  being 
unable  to  get  his  company  accepted  in  a  New  Jersey 
regiment,  raised  one  for  the  District  of  Columbia  volun- 
teers, to  be  attached  to  the  President's  guard.  On  the 
28th  day  of  January  1862  he  left  Morristown  with  70 
men  of  whom  42  were  from  Boonton.  On  their  departure 
they  were  addressed  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ellison  and  Rev. 
Mr.  Irving.  A  large  concourse  was  assembled  to  see 
them  off.     The  following  is  the  roll  of  the  company: 

Captain,  William  Duncan;  first  lieutenant,  George 
"Willenbucher;  sergeants — Theodore  Riley  (ist),  W.  W. 
Carroll,  Abram  Kingsland,  Elias  Millen,  Joseph  Smith; 
corporals — Jacob  R.  Peer,  Jesse  Jennings,  Anthony 
Adams,  John  Moreland,  Sam  Brooks,  Josiah  Davison, 
Barney  McMackin,  A.  M.  Halliday;  privates — W.  M. 
Atkins,  Daniel  Benjamin,  Aaron  E.  Bonnell,  William  Bab- 
cock,  William  R.  Bishop,  William  Bryan.  Henry  Bronson, 
James  Burk,  Charles  Conklin,  Daniel  Carey,  Patrick 
Clark,  John  Conley,  Daniel  S.  Cravet,  James  Daley,  Ar- 
thur Drew,  Franklin  Eghan,  Horace  Elmer,  Charles 
Evans,  Henry  C.  Fedes,  Charles  Grinder,  Abraham  Gu- 
lick,  William  Gray,  Nicholas  Hill,  William  Hopler,  S.  B. 
Harrison,  Samuel  Horner,  Robert  Hudson,  Joseph  Hart- 
man,  Henry  D.  lanson,  John  Jennings,  Joshua  Jenkins, 
Michael  Kennedy,  John  W.  Kelley,  John  Lovvery,  James 
List,  Cornelius  Miller,  G.  B.  Phineas  Meyers,  Thomas 
Murphy,  Thomas  E.  Miller,  David  Marston,  James  Mc- 
Coy, Peter  McFarland,  James  McNulty,  George  Oliver, 
Peter  Peer,  Nelson  Peer,  Merinus  Peer,  George  W.  Pier- 
son,  Timothy  L.  Palmer,  Mitchel  Robear,  Elias  J.  Roff, 
Harry  Reese,  George  Sharp,  Edward  J.  Smith,  Garret 
Smith,  Whitaker  Taylor,  Jacob  N.  Thatcher,  Ira  Van 
Orden,  John  Vanduyne,  James  T.  Vanduyne,  George 
Weir,  George  M.  Whitehead,  Frank  Wildeman,  James 
^\'■hit'ten,  Theodore  Wilkins,  William  Young. 


CHAPTER   XVL 


THE    ELEVENTH    NEW     JERSEY    REGIMENT — BATTLES    AND 
LOSSES    OF   COMPANIES   E    AND    H. 


?N  May  1862  the  governor,  in  anticipation  of 
™j(  the  call  for  300,000  three-years  men  which 
VM^^  was  made  July  7th,  authorized  the  recruiting 
S^^^i  °^  ™^"  for  the  nth  New  Jersey  volunteers. 
Captain  Dorastus  B.  Logan  at  once  cora- 
ls ^  menced  raising  a  company,  afterward  mustered  as 
"  Company  H  of  that  regiment.  On  the  i8th  of  June 
he  took  29  men  to  the  rendezvous.  Camp  Olden  at  Trenton. 
When  the  call  came  from  the  governor,  July  8th,  in  pur- 
suance of  the  President's  call  of  the  day  before,  for  four 
regiments,  this  company  was  rapidly  filled.  At  the  same 
time  Thomas  J.  Halsey  of  Dover  began  the  raising  of 
Company  E  for  the  same  regiment.  He  was  commis- 
sioned major  September  14th  1863.  Robert  McAllister 
was  colonel.  The  i  ith  was  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service  Aug.  i8th  and  left  Trenton  for  Washington  Aug 
25th.  After  remaining  near  Washington  till  Nov.  i6th  the 
regiment  was  attached  to  Gen.  Carr's  brigade,  Sickles's 
division  Army  of  the  Potomac.  It  served  through  the 
war,  participating  in  the  following  engagements,  all  in 
Virginia  excepting  Gettysburg: 

Fredericksburg,  December  13th  and  14th  1862;  Chan- 
cellorsville,  May  3d  and  4th  1863;  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July 
2nd  and  3d  1863;  Wapping  Heights,  July  24th  1863; 
Kelly's  Ford,  November  8th  1863;  Locust  Grove,  Nov. 
27th  1863;  Mine  Run,  November  29th  1863;  Wilderness, 
May  5th-7th  1864;  Spottsylvania,  May  8th-i8th  1864; 
North  Anna  River,  May  23d  and  24th  1864;  Tolopotomy 
Creek,  May  30th  and  31st  1864;  Cold  Harbor,  June  ist- 
■5th  1864;  Baker's  Mills,  June  loth  1864;  before  Peters- 
burg, June  i6th-23d  and  July  30th  1864;  Deep  Bottom, 
July  26th  and  27th  1864;  North  Bank  of  James  River, 
Aug.  I4th-i8th  1864;  Ream's  Station,  Aug.  25th  1864; 
Fort  Sedgwick,  September  i8th  1864;  Poplar  Spring 
Church,  Oct.  2nd  1864;  Boydon  Plank  Road  (capture  of 
Petersburg),  April  2nd  1865;  Amelia  Springs,  April  6th 
1865;  Farmville,  April  6th  and  7th  1865;  Appomattox, 
April  gth  1865. 

Following  are  the  records  of  the  Morris  county  com- 
panies in  the  nth  regiment; 

COMPANY    E. 

OFFICERS. 

The  following  ofificers  were  commissioned  or  enrolled 
at  the  dates  immediately  following  their  names,  and  all 
but  one  of  them  for  the  period  of  three  years.  Where  but 
one  date  is  given  it  was  also  that  of  muster-in.  Where 
two  are  given  the  last  is  the  date  of  muster-in.  The  date 
of  muster-out,  where  not  otherwise  indicated,  was  June 
6th  1865: 

Captains. — Thomas  J.  Halsey,  Aug.  19  '62;  prom, 
major  Sept.  14  '6-i,.  Edward  E.  S.  Newberry,  Nov.  17 
'63,  Jan.  7  '64;  enlisted  as  private  Co.  D  3d  N,  J.;  prom, 
ist  iieut.  Aug.  19  '62;  resigned  captaincy  Jan.  28  '64  to 


86 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


accept  commission  in  veteran  reserve  corps.  Charles  F. 
Gage,  June  26  '64,  July  20  '64;  appointed  ist  lieut.  Co. 
G  Dec.  5  '63;  brevet  major  Apr.  g  '65. 

First  Lieutenants. — William  H.  Egan,  Oct.  5  '63,  Oct. 
3t  '63;  appointed  ist  sergt.  July  22  '62;  ist  lieut.  Co.  H 
Oct.  5  '63;  transferred  from  Co.  H  Jan.  i  '64;  killed  at 
Spottsylvania  Court-house,  Va.,  May  12  '64.  Cyprian  H. 
Rossiter,  Oct.  25  '64,  Nov.  19  '64;  appointed  2nd  lieut. 
Co.  B  Sept.  18  '64;  commissioned  captain  Co.  F  June  13 
'65;  not  mustered. 

Second  Lieutenants — Silas  W.  Volk,  Aug.  19  '62;  re- 
signed Dec.  10  '6t^.  Joseph  C.  Baldwin,  Feb.  18  '63, 
Mar.  i6,  '63;  transferred  from  Co  F  Apr.  16  '64;  killed 
at  Spottsylvania  Court-house,  Va.,  May  12  '64.  Charles 
A.  Oliver,  June  26  '64,  July  20  '64;  formerly  sergt.  Co.  I; 
pro.  ist  lieut.  Co.  K  Oct.  23  '64.  Titus  Berry  jr.,  Oct. 
23  '64,  Nov.  19  '64;  appointed  corp.  Aug.  9  '62;  sergt. 
Sept.  I  '63;  commissioned  adj.  June  18  '65;  not  mus- 
tered. » 

First  ^i?r^i?a/?/.— Augustus  Tucker,  sergt.  Aug.  18  '62; 
ist  sergt.  Nov.  i  '63. 

Sergeants. — Amos  H.  Schoonover,  Sept.  13  '64,  for  i 
year;  pro.  2nd  lieut.  Co.  C  Sept.  18  '64.  Alpheus  Iliff, 
Corp.  July  15  '62;  sergt.  July  i  'by,  commissioned  2nd 
lieut.  Co.  B  May  22  '65  and  ist  lieut.  Co.  H  June  13  '65, 
but  not  mustered.  Thomas  D.  Marbacker,  July  19  '62; 
appointed  corp.  Aug.  20  '63;  sergt.  Nov.  i  '63.  Edward 
J.  Kinney,  Aug.  i6  '62;  appointed  corp.  Aug.  20  '63; 
sergt.  Sept.  8  '64;  dis.  May  3  '65. 

Corporals. — Morris  L.  Ackerman,  Aug.  18  '62;  dis. 
May  3  '65.  Absalom  S.  Talmadge,  Aug.  18  '62;  dis. 
May  3  '65.  George  Zindle,  Aug.  18  '65;  appointed  corp. 
July  I  '64;  dis.  May  3  '65.  Leonard  V.  Gillen,  Aug.  16 
'62;  appointed  corp.  July  i  '64.  James  Brannin,  Aug.  18 
'62;  corp.  Oct.  I  '64.  Bishop  W.  Mainis,  July  28  '62, 
July  29  '62;  corp.  Oct.  6  '64;  dis.  May  3  '65.  Charles 
H.  Johnson  jr.,  Aug.  18  '62;  corp.  Nov.  i  '64.  Frederick 
Cook,  Aug.  16  '62;  corp.  Nov.  i  '64. 

Died. — Sergeants:  Charles  Brandt,  Aug.  5  '62;  died  of 
scurvy  at  Andersonville,  Ga.,  Oct.  31  '64;  appointed 
corp.  Aug.  5  '62;  sergt.  Aug.  i  '53.  James  McDavitt, 
Aug.  16  '62;  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May  3  '63. 
Eliphalet  Sturdevant,  August  18  '62;  died  in  hospital  at 
Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  13  'b^,,  of  wounds  received  there. 

PRIVATES. 

The  date  of  enrollment  and  muster-in  and  the  number 
of  years  for  which  the  man  enlisted  follow  the  name;  the 
date  of  muster-out  was  June  6  '65  if  nothing  appears  to 
the  contrary. 

Charles  H.  Aber,  Aug.  18  '62,  3.  Joseph  H.  Berry, 
Aug.  18 '62,  3.  Sarhuel  Bozegar,  Sept.  27*64,  i;  dr. 
Holmes  Brittin,  Sept.  26  '64,  i;  dr.;  dis.  May  3  '65. 
Oliver  Bruch,  Aug.  12  '64,  3.  Thomas  Bush,  Sept.  i  '64, 
I.  Lewis  A.  De  Camp,  Aug.  18  '62,  3.  Patrick  Gal- 
lagher, Aug.  14 '62,  3.  Jacob  Genther,  July  22  '62;  3. 
John  H.  Gilbert,  July  25  '62,  3.  Charles  E.  Guard,  Aug. 
18  '62,  3.  Matthias  and  Peter  Henderson,  Sept.  21  '64, 
3;  dr.  Charles  Hulse,  Sept.  27  '64,  i;  dr.  Philip  Jayne, 
Aug.  18  '62,  3.  Joseph  C.  Johnson,  Sept.  27  '64,  i;  dr. 
Robert  and  Zacharinh  Johnson,  Sept.  28  '64,  1;  dr.  Ben- 
jamin H.  Joiner,  sergt.  July  22  '62,  3;  private  Sept.  i'  62. 
Jonathan  C.  Knowles,  Aug.  2  '62,  3.  John  Litz,  Aug.  8 
'64,  i;  dis.  May  30  '65.  Lewis  M.  Lorey,  Aug.  30  '64,  i. 
William  Lowery,  Sept.  27  '64,  i;  dr.  Albert  P.  Lyon, 
Aug.  16  '62,  3.  David  Marley,  Sept.  i  '64,  i;  m.  o.  Aug. 
13  '65.  Joseph  McNear,  Sept.  5  '64,  i;  tr.  from  Co.  G. 
George  M.  Merritt,  musician,  Aug.  18  '62.  James  P. 
Myers,  July  ig  '62,  3.  John  O'Dell,  Aug.  18  '62,  3.  E. 
W.  Philhower,  wagoner,  July  25  '62.     Albert  T.  Phillips, 


Aug.  29  '64,  I.  Richard  J.  Porter,  Sept.  26  '64,  i;  dr. 
Henry  Rinkler,  Mar.  2  '65,  3.  Samuel  Robinson,  Aug. 
18  '62,  3;  dis.  May  3  '65.  Samuel  Rose,  Sept.  27  '64,  i; 
dr.;  dis.  May  3  '65.  Alonzo  B.  Searing,  Aug.  18  '62,  3. 
Lambert  Sharp,  July  23  '62,  3.  Frank  E.  Shilstone, 
Aug.  16  '64,  i;  dis.  May  3  '65.  George  Smith,  Sept.  27 
'64,  i;  dr.  James  Smith,  Sept.  21  '64,  i;  dr.  Solomon 
Soper,  Sept.  27  '64,  i;  dr.;  dis.  May  3 '65.  William 
Throckmorton  and  Joseph  E.  Wainwright,  Sept.  27  '64, 
I ;  dr.  Joseph  W.  Walton,  Aug.  18  '62,  3;  dis.  May  3  '65. 
William  Wood,  Aug.  16  '62,  3.  Gilbert  D.  Young,  Aug. 
16  '62.  3.     William  Young,  Aug.  16  '64,  i. 

Discharged  (for  disability  where  no  other  cause  is 
given). — George  Apgar,  July  29  '62,  3;  dis.  Dec.  28  '63. 
Henry  C.  Cook,  Aug.  11  '62,  3;  dis.  Dec.  29  '62.  Jacob 
Egerter,  July  29  '62,  3;  dis.  Apr.  4  '64.  James  M.  Ford, 
Aug.  16  '62,  3;  dis.  Sept.  25  '63.  Marcus  S.  Ford,  Aug. 
16  '62,  3;  dis.  Oct.  13  '63.  James  Henderson,  Aug.  18 
'62,  3;  dis.  Mar.  19  '63.  Louis  Lambert,  Sept.  27  '64,  i; 
dis.  Sept.  8  '64  to  accept  commission  in  20th  N.  Y. 
Stephen  Lefifler,  Aug.  16  '62,  3;  dis.  Feb.  2  '()i.  William 
Minton,  Aug.  18  '62,  3;  dis.  Dec.  15  '64.  Steinzilo 
Monice,  Aug,  18  '62,  3;  dis.  Feb.  19  '63.  William  A. 
Murphy,  Aug.  13  '63,  3;  dis.  Jan.  6  '64.  Octavus  L. 
Pruden,  Aug.  16,  '62,  3;  dis.  October  23  '63  to  join  reg- 
ular army.  Richard  Shauger,  Aug.  18  '62,  3;  dis.  Nov. 
29  '62.  Zadoc  Sperry,  Aug.  18  '62,  3;  dis.  Aug.  14  '63. 
John  Talmadge,  Aug.  18  '62,  3;  dis.  Jan.  15  '63.  John 
H.  Wilson,  Aug.  16  '62,  3;  dis.  Apr.  14  '64.  Joseph 
Zindle,  Aug.  18  '62,  3;    dis.  Feb.  28  '63. 

Transferred. — David  B.  Alpaugh,  Jan.  28  '64,  3;  to  v. 
r.  c.  Apr.  27  '65;  dis.  June  ig  '65.  Elias  H.  Blanchard, 
Aug.  16  '62,  3;  to  V.  r.  c.  Mar.  15  '64.  Charles  Bow- 
man, Aug.  5  '62,  3;  to  V.  r.  c.  July  i  '64;  dis.  June  29 
'65.  John  Burk,  Aug.  14  '63,  3;  to  v.  r.  c.  Feb.  15  '64; 
dis.  Aug.  14  '65.  William  Burns,  Oct.  8  '64,  i;  to  Co.  B 
12th  N.  J.  Charles  Davis,  Oct.  10  '64,  i;  to  Co.  I  12th 
N.  J.  John  Farnum,  Aug.  16  '64,  3;  to  Co.  B  12th  N. 
J.  John  W.  Ford,  Aug.  16  '62,  3;  to  v.  r.  c.  Aug.  i  '63; 
dis.  Nov.  12  '63.  William  F.  Hogbin,  Aug.  12  '64,  3;  to 
Co.  B  1 2th  N.  J.;  dr.  James  Howden,  June  15  '64,  3;  to 
Co.  B  i2th  N.  J.  Thomas  Kelly,  June  13  '64,  3;  to  Co. 
B  i2th  N.  J.  James  King,  Aug.  16  '62,  3;  to  v.  r.  c. 
Sept.  I  'bT^.  William  King,  June  16  '64,  3;  to  Co.  B  12th 
N.  J.  Charles  A.  Kinney,  Aug.  18  '62,  3;  to  v.  r.  c.  Aug. 
10  '64;  dis.  June  29  '65.  Joseph  H.  Lee,  July  19  '64,  3; 
to  Co.  B  i2th  N.  J.;  dr.  David  Lundy,  June  16  '64,  3; 
to  Co.  B  1 2th  N.  J.  Henry  McLane,  Sept.  i  '64,  i;  to 
Co.  B  12th  N.  J.  Waldemar  M.  Melchert,  June  11  '64, 
3;  to  Co.  B  i2th  N.  J.  William  Osborn,  Aug.  18  '62,  3; 
to  V.  r.  c.  Sept.  30  '64;  dis.  July  13  '65.  Armstrong 
Powell,  Aug.  15  '64,  3;  to  Co.  B  12th  N.  J.;  dr.  William 
Reiser,  Feb.  24  '65,  i;  to  Co.  A  12th  N.  J.  James  Riley, 
Oct.  7  '64,  i;  to  Co.  B  12th  N.  J.  Thomas  Scattergood, 
Mar.  31  '63,  3;  to  V.  r.  c.  Sept.  30  '64;  dis.  July  24  '65. 
George  Schoonover,  Feb.  25  '65,  i;  to  Co.  B  12th  N.  J. 
Killian  Schulze,  Sept.  2  '64,  i ;  to  Bat.  A.  John  Smith, 
Oct.  8  '64,  i;  to  Co.  B  12th  N.  J.;  dr.  John  Sullivan, 
Aug.  16  '64,  3;  to  Co.  A.  John  F.  Sullivan,  June  15  '64, 
3;  to  Co.  B  i2th  N.  J.  Mahlon  D.  Talmadge,  Aug.  16 
'62,  3;  to  V.  r.  c.  Sept.  I  '63;  dis.  June  29  '65.  Reuben 
E.  Talmadge,  Aug.  16  '62,  3;  to  v.  r.  c.  March  15  '64; 
dis.  June  30  '65.  Samuel  Taylor,  May  10  '64,  3;  to  Co. 
B  1 2th  N.  J.;  dr.  Alva  S.  Valentine,  Sept.  i  '64,  i;  to 
Co.  M  3d  N.  J.  cav.  James  J.  Van  Orden,  Aug.  18  '62, 
3;  to  v.  r.  c.  April  26  '65;  dis.  Jane  2g  '65.  Isaac  Wool- 
verton,  June  17  '62,  3;  to  v.  r.  c.  Mar.  23  '64;  dis.  June 
23  '65;  appointed  sergt.  June  17  '62;  private  Sept.  i  'dj,. 
James'K.  Youmans,  Aug.  18  '62,  3;  to  v.  r.  c.  Jan.  15 
'64;  dis.  July  3  '65. 

Died. — (With  the  exception  of  Mr.  Atkinson  these  men 


COMPANIES  E  AND  H  ELEVENl^H  N.  J. 


entered  the  service  for  three  years;  the  date  of  enroll- 
ment and  muster-in  follows  the  name).  James  Atkinson, 
Sept.  27  '64;  dr.  for  i  year;  missing  at  Boydton  Plank 
Road,  Va.,  Oct.  27  '64.  Joshua  Beach,  Aug.  18  '62;  died 
of  scurvy  at  Andersonville,  Ga.,  Aug.  i  '64.  John  Cook, 
July  23  '62;  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May  3  '63 
David  Daley,  June  17  '62;  missing  at  Gettysburg,  Pa , 
July  3  '63.  James  F.  Gibson,  July  24  '62;  died  of 
chronic  diarrhoea  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  Mar.  4  '65,  while  on 
a  furlough.  Peter  Hann,  Aug.  12  '62;  killed  at  Chancel- 
lorsville, Va.,  May  3  '63.  William  W.  Hoffman,  July  29 
'62;  died  of  disease  at  Richmond,  Va.,  Apr.  12  '64. 
William  Horton,  Aug.  18  '62;  killed  at  Chancellorsville, 
Va.,  May  3  '63.  Charles  Mann,  Aug.  5  '62;  killed  at 
Locust  Grove,  Va.,  Nov.  27  '63.  John  Mann,  Aug.  12 
'62;  died  at  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May  11  '6^,  of  wounds 
received  there.  Jacob  Miller,  Aug.  18  '62;  missing  at 
Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3  '63.  Thomas  Murray,  June  17 
'62;  died  at  Washington,  May  28  '63,  of  wounds  received 
at  Chancellorsville.  Riley  O'Brien,  June  17  '62;  killed 
at  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May  3  '63."  Isaac  O'Dell,  Aug. 
16  '62;  died  of  chronic  diarrhoea  near  Falmouth  Va., 
Mar.  9  '63.  Daniel  H.  Palmer,  Aug.  16  '62;  died  at 
Washington,  June  23  '63,  of  wounds  received  at  Chancel- 
lorsville. William  B.  Phillips,  Aug.  12  '62;  captured  b_e- 
fore  Petersburg,  Va.,  June  22  '64;  died  at  Florence,  S. 
C,  Nov.  15  '64.  James  Ridgeway,  Aug.  10  '64;  dr.; 
died  of  chronic  diarrhoea,  at  New^  York,  Nov.  9  '64. 
Elihu  F.  Rose,  corp.,  Aug.  18  '62;  killed  at  Spottsylvania, 
Va.,  May  10  '64.  C.  M.  Shauger,  Aug.  18  '62;  died  of 
typhoid  fever  near  Falmouth,  Va.,  March  29  '63.  James 
W.  Smith,  July  29  '62;  died  of  intermittent  fever  near 
Alexandria,  Va.,  Nov.  26  '62.  William  H.  Sweet,  Aug. 
18  '62;  missing  at  Chancellorsville,  May  3  '63.  Cyrus 
L.  Talmadge,  Aug.  18  '62;  died  at  Andersonville,  Ga., 
Sept.  2  '64.  Thomas  Tinney,  Aug.  16  '62;  killed  at  Get- 
tysburg, Pa.,  July  2  '63.  Gilbert  Young,  July  16  '62; 
died  of  smallpox,  at  Washington,  Dec.  8  '62. 

COMPANY    H. 

OFFICERS. 

The  following  were  commissioned  or  enrolled,  and 
mustered  in  for  three  years'  service,  at  the  dates  follow- 
ing their  names: 

Captains. — Dorastus  B.  Logan,  Aug.  13  '62,  Aug.  14 
'62;  killed  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  2  %j,.  Ira  W.  Cory, 
July  3  '63,  Oct.  23  '63;  appointed  sergt.  Co.  K  7th  N. 
J.;  ist  lieut.  Aug.  13  '62;  on  detached  service  at  draft 
rendezvous,  Trenton;  m.  o.  June  5  '65. 

First  Lieutenants. — William  H.  Egan,  Oct.  5  '()t„  Oct. 
31  '63;  appointed  ist  sergt.  Co.  E;  tr.  to  that  company 
Jan.  I  '64.  Alexander  Cummings,  Nov.  13  '63,  Nov.  24 
'62,\  appointed  ist  sergt.  June  17  '62;  2nd  lieut.  Sept.  20 
'63;  tr.  from  Co.  K  Jan.  i  '64;  dismissed  May  8  '65. 

Second  Lieutenant — William  E.  Axtell,  Aug.  13  '62, 
Aug.  14  '62;  resigned  Sept.  29  '63,  from  wounds  received 
at  Gettysburg;  commissioned  ist  lieut.  July  2  '63;  not 
mustered. 

First  Sergeants. — Alonzo  M.  Merritt,  sergt.,  July  26 
'62;  ist  sergt.  Jan.  i  '64;  sergt.  major  May  13  '64.  Wat- 
son P.  Tuttle,  corp.  June  17  '62;  ist  sergt.  June  i  '64; 
sergt.  major  Sept.  i  '64.  Michael  J.  Southard,  July  5 
'62;  pro.  corp.  May  4  'by,  ist  sergt.  Oct.  i  '64;  captured 
and  paroled;  dis.  Apr.  28  '65. 

Sergeants.— '^\\X\2iXa.  S.   Stout,  June  17  '6z;  appointed 


corp.  Sept.  I  '63;  sergt.  Jan.  i  '64;  m.  o.  June  6  '65. 
Peter  Stone,  Aug.  6  '62;  appointed  corp.  Jan.  i  '64; 
sergt.  Sept.  i  '64;  commissioned  2nd  lieut.  Co.  B  June  13 
'65;  not  mustered.  George  W.  Hedden,  June  26  '62; 
pro.  corp.  Feb.  i  '63;  sergt.  Oct.  i  '64;  m.  o.  June  6 
'65. 

Corporals. — Nathaniel  Clark,  July  21  '62;  pro.  corp. 
May  4  '63;  m.  o.  June  6  '65.  Lambert  Riker,  June  17 
'62;  pro.  corp.  Sept.  i  '63;  m.  o,  June  6  '65.  John  J. 
Sites,  July  5  '62;  pro.  corp.  Aug.  i  '63;  dis.  May  3  '65. 
George  A.  Stevens,  June  17  '62;  m.  o.  June  6  '65.  Wil- 
liam S.  Goarkee,  July  9  '62;  pro.  corp.  Oct.  i  '64;  m.  o. 
June  6  '65. 

Musician. — William  Y.  Kelly,  July  5  '62;  m.  o.  June  6 
'65- 

Discharged. — Sergeant  Thomas  S.  Mitchell,  enrolled 
and  mustered  June  17  '62;  dis.  Mar.  19  '63  for  disability. 
Musician  William  H.  Egbert,  enrolled  and  mustered  Aug. 
14  '62;  dis.  for  disability  Jan.  t6  '63.  Wagoner  David 
H.  Thomas,  enrolled  and  mustered  June  17  '62;  dis.  Jan. 
9  '63  for  disability. 

Transferred  {dait  of  enrollment  and  muster  following 
the  name). — Sergeants:  Silas  C.  Todd,  June  17  '62;  to 
v.  r.  c.  Aug.  6  '64;  dis.  June  17  '65.  Henry  C.  Wood- 
ruff, July  21  '62;  to  V.  r.  c.  Sept.  30  '64;  dis.  July  6  '65; 
appointed  corp.  July  21  '62;  sergt.  Apr.  i  '6^,.  Corporals: 
Erastus  H.  Rorick,  Aug.  6  '62;  to  v.  r.  c.  July  i  '63;  dis. 
Aug.  19  '64;  prom.  corp.  Sept.  i  '62.  Oliver  Ayres,  July 
5  '62;  to  V.  r.  c.  Dec.  7  '63;  dis.  Oct.  3  '64;  prom.  corp. 
Jan.  I  '63. 

Died. — John  V.  Lanterman,  ist  sergt.,  enrolled  and 
mustered  June  17  '62;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court- 
house, Va.,  May  12  '64.  Daniel  Bender,  sergt.,  enrolled 
and  mustered  June  17  '62;  killed  at  Chancellorsville,Va., 
May  3  '63.  Charles  W.  Buck,  corp.;  enrolled  and  mus- 
tered July  30  62,  died  of  debility,  on  furlough,  at  Wash- 
ington, Mar.  13  '63.  John  S.  Harden,  corp.,  enrolled  and 
mustered  July  14  '62;  died  of  congestion  of  the  brain 
near  Fort  Ellsworth,  Va.,  Oct.  9  '62.  John  Fleming, 
Corp.,  enrolled  and  mustered  July  9  '62.;  appointed  corp. 
Oct.  9  '62;  killed  in  action  near  Petersburg,  Va.,  June 
16  '64. 

PRIVATES. 

The  date  immediately  following  these  names  is  that  of 
enrollment  and  muster.  The  figure  1  after  the  date 
shows  that  the  man  entered  the  service  for  one  year;  in 
other  cases  the  term  of  enlistment  was  three  years.  The 
date  of  muster-out  was  June  6  1865,  where  nothing  ap- 
pears to  the  contrary. 

John  Anderson,  June  24  '62.  Albert  L.  Axtell,  July 
5  62.  Solomon  G.  Cannon,  June  17  '62;  captured  and 
paroled;  dis.  May  12  '65.  John  Caspar,  Sept.  i  '64,  i; 
dis.  May  3  '65.  Jacob  S.  Clawson,  Aug.  i  '62.  Christian 
Clevel,  Aug.  17  '64;  dis.  June  12*65.  Joseph  L.  Decker, 
July  19  '62.  Timothy  Furl,  July  9  '62.  Daniel  C.  Hig- 
gins,  June  16  '64;  dis.  Apr.  8  '65.  John  Hoffman,  Sept. 
I  '64;  dis.  Apr"  28  '65.  George  Horton,  July  5  '62. 
Joseph  R.  Mackey,  July  5  '62;  dis.  May  3  '65.  Lewis 
N.  McPeake,  Aug.  15  '62;  dis.  May  3  '65.  Morris  Myers, 
Sept.  28  '64,  I.  John  Motti,  Sept.  26  '64,  i.  George 
Murphy,  corp.  June  17  '62;  private  Jan.  i  '63:  dis.  May 
3  '65.  Hans  T.  Olson,  Sept.  28  '64,  i.  Bartley  Owen, 
July  23  '62;  captured  and  paroled;  dis.  May  12  '65. 
Michael  Raiter,  Sept.  28  '64,  i.  Jacob  Schneider,  Sept. 
28  '64,  I.  William  Southard,  July  5  '62.  Antoine  Stael, 
Sept.  28  '64,  I,      Henry  Stibling,  Sept.  26  '64,  i.      John 


13 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


Stone,  Sept.  28  '64,  i.  John  V.  Stout,  June  17  '62. 
James  Sweeney,  June  20  '62.  Thomas  Welsh,  Sept.  26 
'64,  I. 

Discharged. — (The  date  of  enrollment  and  muster  fol- 
lows the  name.  All  but  one  were  three-years  men.  The 
cause  of  discharge  was  physical  disability  where  no  other 
is  given).  Joshua  Barber,  July  30 '62;  dis.  Oct.  20  '64. 
for  wounds  received  at  Spnttsylvania.  Henry  Bayard, 
June  II  '64;  dis.  May  30  '65,  for  woimds  received  at 
Boydton  Plank  Road,  Va.,  Oct.  27  '64.  George  Brown, 
Sept.  I  '64;  dishonorably  discharged  Mar.  i  '65.  Dennis 
Crater,  July  16  '62;  dis.  May  3  '65,  for  wounds  at  Spott- 
sylvania.  Edward  Emerson,  Sept.  28  '64,  i  year;  dis. 
July  12  '65,  for  wounds  at  Fort  Morton,  Va.,  Nov.  5  '64. 
George  W.  Jackson,  June  17  '62;  dis.  Jan  14  '63.  James 
N.  Jarvis,  June  26  '62;  dis.  Dec.  30  '62.  Constant  V. 
King,  Aug.  I  '62;  dis.  Aug.  27  '63.  Patrick  King,  July 
26  '62;  dis.  Dec.  3  'd^x,,  for  wounds  at  Gettysburg.  Mar- 
shall Love,  Aug.  14  '62;  dis.  July  21  '63.  -George  H. 
McDougall,  June  17  '62;  dis.  Jan.  23  '63.  Reuben 
O'Dell,  June  28  '62;  dis.  Mar.  25  '65.  Robert  D.  Owen, 
July  21  '62;  dis.  Jan.  9  '63.  Timothy  K.  Pruden,  June 
17  '62;  dis.  Dec.  15  'b^,  for  wounds  at  Gettysburg.  Ed- 
ward Rich,  July  5  '62;  dis.  Apr.  25  '63.  David  A. 
Riker,  July  24  '62;  dis.  Dec.  24  '62.  William  Rowley, 
July  5  '62;  dis.  April  25  '63.  William  Shack,  July  30 
'62;  dis.  Jan.  5  '63.  William  Sullivan,  July  2  '62;  dis. 
Jan.  5  '(iT,.  John  Wright,  June  24  '62;  dis.  Aug.  15  '64. 
Theodore  F.  Wolfe,  June  17  '62;  dis.  Jan.  5  'Qi2>- 

Died  (The  date  of  enlistment  and  muster  follows  the 
name.  The  period  of  enlistment  was  three  years,  except 
in  a  single  case). — Levi  P.  Baird,  July  5  '62;  killed  near 
Chancellorsville,  May  3  '6^.  Edward  Barber;  Aug.  i  '62; 
killed  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  2  '63.  Simeon  Brooks, 
July  2  '62;  died  of  chronic  diarrhoea  near  Falmouth,  Va., 
Feb.  I  '63.  Bingham  Cartwright,  Aug.  i  '61;  died  of 
debility  near  Falmouth,  Va,,  Jan.  18  'd^.  Levi  Cart- 
wright,  Aug.  T  '62;  died  of  diphtheria  near  Alexandria, 
Va.,  Dec.  15  '62.  Timothy  Cummings,  Aug.  14  '62;  died  of 
dysentery  near  Fort  Ellsworth,  Va.,  Oct.  27  '62.  Daniel 
Decker,  June  28  '62;  died- of  typhoid  fever  near  Falmouth, 
Va.,  Feb.  7  '62-  William  A.  Decker,  Aug.  6  '62;  died  at 
Washington  May  30  '63,  of  wounds  received  at  Chancel- 
lors-ville;  prom.  corp.  May  4  '63.  William  De  Groat,  July 
5  '62;  died  of  inflammation  of  the  bowels  near  Falmouth, 
Va.,  Dec.  25  '62.  Edward  Dorsay,  July  5  '62;  died  of  in- 
flammation of  the  bowels  near  Fort  Ellsworth,  Va.,  Oct. 
16  '62.  William  Halsey,  July  5  '62;  missing  at  Gettys- 
burg, Pa.,  July  2  '63.  Francis  M.  Hendershot,  July  18 
'62;  died  of  chronic  diarrhoea  Sept.  26  '64,  on  James 
River.  Peter  Hendershot,  July  5  '62;  died  of  debility 
near  Falmouth,  Va.,  Jan.  2  '63.  Richard  Henderson, 
Aug.  6  '62;  died  of  inflammation  of  the  lungs  near  Fal- 
mouth, Dec.  30  '62.  John  Henry  Klein,  Oct.  10  '64,  i 
year;  missing  at  Boydton  Plank  Road,  Va.,  Oct.  27  '64; 
died  of  fever  at  Salisbury,  N.  C,  Feb.  7  '65.  Ferdinand 
Martin,  June  15  '64;  died  at  City  Point,  Va.,  Dec.  4  '64, 
of  woimds  near  Petersburg.  William  Potts,  June  17  '62; 
died  of  chronic  diarrhoea  at  Washington,  Oct.  i  '63. 
Charles  W.  Prickett,  June  28  '62;  died  of  chronic  diar- 
rhoea at  Washington,  May  18  '65.  Joseph  P.  Robare, 
July  31  '61;  died  at  Potomac  Creek  hospital,  Va.,  May 
3  '6^,  of  wounds  at  Chancellorsville.  John  C.  Sharp, 
June  17  '62;  died  of  heart  disease  near  Fort  Ellsworth, 
Va.,  Nov.  18  '62.  Henry  South,  July  2  '62;  killed  at 
Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May  3  '6;^.  David  Talmadge,  July 
30  '62;  missing  near  Petersburg,  Va.,  June  22  '64.  Wil- 
liam W.  Tuttle,  July  26  '62;  died  of  typhoid  fever  near 
Fort  Ellsworth,  Va..  Nov.  6  '62.  James  AI.  Woodruff, 
Tune  17  '62;  killed  at  Locust  Grove,  Va.,  Nov.  27 
•63. 


CHAPTER  XVIL 


THE    BRILLIANT    RECORD    OF    COMPANIES    C    AND    F    15TH 
N.    J.    VOLUNTEERS. 


HE  15th  regiment  of  New  Jersey  volunteer 
infantry  was  raised  in  the  summer  of  1862, 
in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  State,  three 
companies  going  from  Sussex  county,  two 
each  from  Morris,  Hunterdon  and  Warren 
and  one  from  Somerset.  The  men  were  of  a  high 
grade  of  character  and  intelligence,  and  were  dis- 
ciplined by  veteran  officers.  The  colonels  of  the  regi- 
ment at  different  times  were  Samuel  Fowler,  A.  C.  M. 
Pennington  jr.  (never  mustered)  and  William  H.  Pen- 
rose. Edmund  D.  Halsey  was  commissioned  adjutant 
January  ist  1864,  having  been  first  lieutenant  of  Com- 
pany D,  second  lieutenant  of  Company  F,  sergeant 
major,  and  private  in  Company  K. 

The  regiment  was  mustered  in  on  the  25th  of  August 
1862  and  immediately  went  to  the  front.  Its  first  duty 
was  building  fortifications  at  Tenaliytown,  Md.,  Lee  be- 
ing then  on  his  northern  march  which  was  stopped  by 
the  battle  of  Antietara.  At  the  end  of  September  the 
15th  joined  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  and  from  this  lime 
to  the  close  of  the  war  it  shared  the  hard  work,  the  de- 
feats and  the  victories  of  that  great  army,  being  attached 
to  the  first  brigade,  first  division,  sixth  corps. 

The  regiment  was  first  under  fire  at  Fredericksburg, 
December  13th  1862,  having  crossed  the  Rappahannock 
below  the  town  and  occupied  a  ravine,  behaving  admira- 
bly under  a  cannonade  by  which  several  were  wounded. 
The  next  mornmg,  before  daylight,  the  isth  was  de- 
ployed as  skirmishers,  within  hearing  of  the  voices  of  the 
enemy.  At  sunrise  the  skirmish  line  opened  fire.  In  the 
bloody  battle  thus  introduced  the  Morris  county  com- 
panies fared  less  hardly  than  some  portions  of  the  line, 
but  Sergeant  Major  Fowler  and  Alexander  S.  Sergeant 
of  Company  F  were  killed  and  several  were  severely 
wounded.  The  next  morning  the  regiment  was  relieved 
by  the  121st  New  York. 

The  tedious  "'  mud  march  "  which  followed  the  Fred- 
ericksburg disaster  preluded  a  dismal  winter  in  camp  at 
White  Oak  Church,  typhoid  fever  prevailing  and  making 
sad  inroads  upon  the  companies  from  Morris,  who  were 
thereafter  notably  fortunate  in  the  matter  of  health. 

The  next  fighting  was  the  Chancellorsville  campaign. 
This  took  the  15th  across  the  Rappahannock  River  be- 
low Fredericksburg  as  before,  the  regiment  forming  the 
extreme  left  of  the  sixth  corps  in  the  action  of  May  3d, 
supporting  a  battery  and  aiding  to  prevent  the  enemy 
from  turning  the  left  flank  of  Hooker's  army.  In  this 
service  the  15th  suffered  considerable  loss.  Advancing 
in  the  afternoon  to  Salem  Church  this  regiment  drove 
the  enemy  by  a  gallant  charge,  and  held  its  ground  till 
ordered  back  at  night.     It  is  believed  that  after  this"  en- 


THE  FIFTEENTH  NEW  JERSEY  VOLUNTEERS. 


S9 


counter  few  regiments  besides  tlie  isth  New  Jersey  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  off  all  their  wounded.  This  noble 
achievement  in  the  case  of  the  15th  is  largely  credited  to 
the  brave  and  tireless  exertions  of  the  chaplain.  The 
next  day  the  army  began  its  retreat  to  the  old  camp. 

In  the  movement  at  Fredericksburg  in  June  to  divert 
the  attention  of  the  enemy  the  15th  covered  the  crossing 
of  the  Rappahannock  River,  removing  the  pontoon  bridge 
in  the  face  of  the  enemy  and  in  a  driving  rain.  It  fought 
at  Gettysburg,  and  participated  in  the  advances  and  re- 
treats that  consumed  the  latter  part  of  1863. 

The  following  winter  was  passed  in  camp  at  Brandy 
Station,  Va.,  in  picket  and  fatigue  duty,  interrupted  by 
an  expedition  of  the  brigade  to  Madison  Court-house, 
which  involved  no  fighting.  A  log  church  edifice  was 
built  in  the  camp,  in  which  literary  as  well  as  religious 
exercises  were  held;  a  "church"  of  130  members  was 
organized,  to  which  46  were  added  by  conversion. 

The  regiment  broke  camp  on  the  4th  of  May  1864, 
and  immediately  plunged  into  the  terrible  Wilderness 
campaign.  On  the  8th,  with  the  3d  N.  J.,  the  15th  made 
a  splendid  charge  at  Spottsylvunia  Court-house,  to 
develop  the  position  and  strength  of  the  rebel  force.  It 
was  repulsed  with  terrible  loss,  loi  men  being  killed  or 
wounded.  The  next  day  the  15th  and  the  ist  had  a 
sharp  encounter  with  the  rebel  skirmishers  in  a  movement 
on  the  enemy's  right  flank.  On  the  loth  these  regiments 
drove  in  the  rebel  skirmish  line,  but  were  stopped  by  the 
fortifications  at  the  "  bloody  angle."  They  were  re- 
inforced and  renewed  the  attack,  but  were  again  repulsed, 
the  entrenchments  of  the  enemy  at  this  point  being  one 
of  the  strongest  field  works  ever  attacked  by  the  army. 
On  the  same  day  the  sixth  corps  carried  a  part  of  the 
enemy's  line,  but  had  to  abandon  it  and  many  prisoners, 
on  account  of  the  repulse  of  the  other  troops,  attacking 
on  either  hand.  The  two  regiments  mentioned,  however, 
held  the  ground  taken  by  them  till  relieved  after  dark. 

On  the  1 2th  the  6th  corps  assaulted  the  "bloody 
angle,"  with  the  islh  regiment  on  the  extreme  right  of 
the  front  line.  Charging  through  a  murderous  fire,  this 
regiment  broke  through  the  strong  line  of  the  enemy, 
capturing  prisoners  and  a  stand  of  colors.  Unsupported, 
and  enfiladed  from  neighboring  works  not  taken,  the 
brave  little  Union  force  was  compelled  to  retire,  having 
lost  more  than  one-half  of  the  rank  and  file  and  seven  of 
its  best  officers.  "  Out  of  429  men  and  14  line  officers, 
who  crossed  the  Rapidan  on  the  4th,  only  122  men  and 
four  line  officers  remained." 

The  isth  shared  in  the  advance  to  Petersburg  which 
followed  the  retreat  of  the  rebels  from  Spottsylvania,  and 
afterward  fought  under  Sheridan  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley.  At  Hanover  Court-house  the  decimated  ranks 
were  in  part  filled  with  the  re-enlisted  veterans  of  the 
2nd,  and  at  Cold  Harbor  the  re- enlisted  veterans  of  the 
3d  were  added,  the  original  term  of  service  of  those  or- 
ganizations having  expired.  On  the  17th  of  August  this 
regiment  so  stubbornly  held  in  check  the  army  of  Early 
and  Longstreet  that  the  latter  actually  formed  for  an 
attack  in   the  belief  that  Sheridan's  whole  force  was  be- 


fore them.  One  confederate  brigade  was  enough  to 
scatter  the  thin  skirmish  line  of  the  Jerseymen,  but  the 
latter  yielded  only  with  the  most  stubborn  resistance, 
some  of  the  15th  holding  their  ground  so  long  as  to  be 
surrounded  and  captured. 

At  the  battle  of  Opequan,  on  the  19th  of  September 
1864,  this  regiment,  in  the  opinion  of  a  division  com- 
mander, saved  the  day  by  holding  a  hill  and  checking 
the  advance  of  the  enemy  during  a  temporary  reverse  to 
the  Union  line,  after  which  Sheridan's  men  rallied  to  one 
of  the  most  important  victories  of  the  war. 

At  Fisher's  Hill,  September  22nd,  the  ist  New  Jersey 
brigade,  by  a  most  brilliant  charge,  carried  a  rebel 
stronghold,  capturing  a  num.ber  o(  guns;  and  at  Cedar 
Creek  on  the  19th  of  October  occupied  the  most  advanced 
and  difficult  position,  one  of  the  field  officers  of  the  15th 
being  killed  and  the  other  two  wounded,  while  the  rank 
and  file  suffered  severely.  After  this  battle  the  regiment 
rejoined  the  army  before  Petersburg,  and  participated  in 
the  capture  of  that  city  and  Richmond  and  other  closing 
events  of  the  war.  It  was  present  at  the  surrender  of 
Lee  at  Appomattox,  April  9th,  and  was  mustered  out  at 
Hall's  Hill,  Va.,  June  22nd  1865.  One  of  the  field  offi- 
cers of  the  15th,  from  whom  we  have  derived  the  fore- 
going facts,  summarizes  the  brilliant  record  of  the  regi- 
ment as  follows: 

"  In  the  death  grapples  of  army  with  army,  from  1862 
to  1865,  it  bore  the  stars  and  stripes  with  honor  and  dis- 
tinction. No  regiment  fought  with  more  tenacious  cour- 
age, or  presented  a  more  steady  and  unbroken  front  to 
the  foe.  Where  the  fire  was  hottest,  the  charge  most  im- 
petuous, the  resistance  most  stubborn,  the  carnage  most 
fearful,  it  was  found.  It  was  never  ordered  to  take  a  po- 
sition that  it  did  not  reach  it.  It  was  never  required  to 
hold  a  post  that  it  did  not  hold  it.  It  never  assaulted  a 
line  of  the  enemy  that  it  did  not  drive  it.  It  never 
charged  a  rebel  work  that  it  did  not  reach  it.  *  *  * 
Such  a  record  must  be  traced  in  blood.  When  the  roll 
is  called,  three  hundred  and  sixty-one  times  it  must  be 
answered — '  Dead  on  the  field  of  honor.'  " 

The  statistics  of  this  regiment  are  as  follows: 
Officers  at  muster-in,  38;  enlisted  men  ditto,  909; 
officers  gained,  72;  enlisted  men  gained,  852;  total 
strength,  1,871;  officers  mustered  out,  18;  enlisted  men 
mustered  out,  398;  died  of  disease,  99;  died  of  wounds, 
247;  died  in  prison,  15;  total  deaths,  361. 

The  engagements  in  which  the  regiment  participated 
were  the  following,  all  in  Virginia  where  not  otherwise 
indicated: 

Fredericksburg,  December  13th  and  14th  1862  and 
May  3d  1863;  Salem  Heights,  May  3d  and  4th  1863; 
Franklin's  Crossing,  June  6th-i4th  1863;  Gettysburg, 
Pa.,  July  2nd  and  3d  1863;  Fairfield,  Pa.,  Jnly  5th 
1863;  Funktown,  Md.,  July  loth  1863;  Rappahannock 
Station,  October  12th  and  November  7th  1863;  Mine 
Run,  November  30th  1863;  Wilderness,  May  5th-7th 
1864;  Spottsylvania,  May  8th-i6th  1864;  North  and 
South  Anna  River,  May  24th  1864;  Hanover  Court- 
house, May  29th  1864;  Tolopotomy  Creek,  May  30th 
and  31st  1864;  Cold  Harbor,  June  ist-iith  1864;  Before 
Petersburg,  J Lin&  i6th-22nd  1864;  Weldon  Railroad,  June 
23d  1864;  Snicker's  Gap,  July  i8th  1864;  Strasburg, 
August  15th  1864;  Winchester,  August  17th  1864; 
I  Charlestown,  August  21st  1864;  Opequan  September  19th 


90 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


1864;  Fisher's  Hill,  September  21st  and  22nd  1864; 
New  Market,  September  24th  1864;  Mount  Jackson, 
September  2Sth  1864;  Cedar  Creek  and  Middletown,  Oc- 
tober 19th  1864;  Hatcher's  Run,  February  sth  1865; 
Fort  Stedman,  March  2Sth  1865;  capture  of  Petersburg, 
April  2nd  1865;  Sailor's  Creek,  April  6th  1865;  Farni- 
ville,  April  7  th  1865. 

Below  are  rolls  of  the  Morris  county  companies  in  the 
iSth  regiment: 

COMPANY  C. 

OFFICERS. 

These  men  entered  the  service  for  three  years.  Imme- 
diately following  the  name  is  the  date  of  commission  or 
enrollment;  the  date  of  muster-in  was  August  25th  1862, 
where  no  second  date  is  given;  and  the  date  of  muster- 
out- June  22nd  1865,  if  not  otherwise  stated. 

Captains. — Ira  J.  Lindsley,  Aug.  15  '62;  killed  at  Salem 
Heights,  Va.,  May  3  '63.  Lewis  Van  Blarcom,  June  19 
'63,  July  I  '63;  appointed  ist  lieut.  Co.  D  Aug.  15  '62. 
and  captain  May  8  '64;  dis.  Dec.  15  '64,  for  wounds, 
Herman  Lipfert,  Sept.  14  '62,  Oct.  3  '62;  tr.  from  Co  E. 
2nd  N.  J.  May  29  '64;  dis.  Aug.  10  '64,  as  supernumer- 
ary. James  H.  Comings,  Dec.  31  '64,  Jan.  26  '65;  ap- 
pointed ist  lieut.  Co.  A  July  3  '64;  brevet  major  Apr.  2  '65. 

First  Lieutenants. — Erastus  H.  Taylor,  Aug.  15  '62; 
dis.  July  22  '63,  for  disability.  William  W.  Van  Voy, 
Nov.  4  'i>2,\  appointed  2nd  lieut.  Co.  I  Aug,  15  '62; 
killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house,  Va.,  May  12  '64. 

Second  Lieutenants. — Samuel  R.  Connett,  Aug.  12  '62; 
appointed  sergt.  Co.  K  7th  N.  J.;  ist  lieut.  Co.  A  Apr. 
7  '63;  resigned  June  20  '63.  George  Martin,  Apr.  7  '63, 
Apr.  24  '63;  formerly  ist  sergt.  Co.  B;  dismissed  Oct.  5 
'63.  Henry  R.  Merrill,  July  3  '64,  Dec.  1  '64;  formerly 
ist  sergt.  Co.  H. 

First  Sergeant. — Andrew  J.  Brannin;  corp.  Aug.  8 
'62;  ist  sergt.  Jan.  i  '65;  died  Aug.  19  '73. 

Sergeants. — John  P.  Crater,  July  10  '62;  pro.  2nd  lieut. 
Co.  D  Mar.  18  '63;  wounded  May  3  '63;  pro.  ist  lieut. 
Co.  E  Nov.  4  '63;  capt.  Co.  K,  July  3  '64;  brevet  major 
April  2  '65.  William  F.  Parrish,  July  10  '62;  wounded 
at  Salem  Heights  May  3  '63;  pro.  sergt.  major  Apr.  i  '65. 
Menrath  Weyer  jr.,  corp.  Aug.  7,  '62;  sergt.  Apr.  9  '63; 
ist  lieut.  Co.  F  July  3  '64.  John  Efner,  July  10  '62; 
corp.  July  I  '63;  sergt.  Nov.  i  '64.  Robert  Lyon,  July 
31  '62;  wounded  at  Salem  Heights  May  3  '63;  sergt. 
Jan.  I  '65.  Charles  H.  Guerin,  July  29  '62. ,  George 
Hull,  Aug.  9  '62;  wounded  at  Spottsylvania,  May  '64; 
sergt.  May  i  '65.  Israel  D.  Lum,  wounded  at  Spottsyl- 
vania, May  9  '64. 

Corporals. — Augustus  S.  Hopping,  Aug.  13  '62;  pro. 
corp.  Apr.  9  '63.  Lewis  L.  Davis,  Aug.  9  '62;  wounded 
at  Spottsylvania,  May  '64;  pro.  corp.  May  i  '65.  Charles 
W.  White,  July  19  '62;  dis.  May  3  '65.  Manuel  Johnson, 
Aug.  II  '62;  wounded  May  12  '64;  pro.  corp.  Jan.  i  '(it,; 
dis.  June  28  '65.  Cyrus  Estill,  Aug.  9  '62;  pro.  corp. 
May  I  '65.  George  F.  Wardell,  Aug.  14  '62;  pro.  corp. 
May  I  '65.  John  A.  Clift,  Aug.  11  '62;  wounded  at 
Opequan,  Sept.  19  '64;  pro.  corp.  May  12  '65;  m.  o. 
May  31  '65.  Edwin  A.  Doughty;  wounded  at  Salem 
Heights,  May  3  '63. 

Discharged. — William  Beers,  corp.  Aug.  9  '62;  dis. 
Nov.  20  '63,  for  wounds  received  May  3  '63;  arm  am- 
putated. Thomas  E.  Bennett,  musician,  July  26  '62;  dis. 
Jan.  14  '64.  Albert  C.  Dildine,  musician,  July  30  '62; 
dis.  Jan.  4  '64. 

Transferred. — John  A.  Brown,  ist  sergt.,  July  10  '62; 
wounded  May  3  'di;  tr.  to  v.  r.  c.  Mar.  15  '64;  dis.  June 
30  '65.  Samuel  Rubadow,  corp.,  Aug.  2  '62,  to  Co.  H; 
sergt.  Nov.  5  '63;    color  sergt.;    killed  at  Spottsylvania, 


May  9  '64.  David  W.  Kithcart,  corp.,  Jan.  4  '64;  from 
Co.  D;  appointed  corp.  Nov.  i  '64;  tr.  to  Co.  D  2nd  N. 
J.  June  21  '65. 

Died.—]Q\\x\  P.  Van  Houten,  ist  sergt.,  July  10  '62; 
killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house,  Va.,,May  12  '64; 
appointed  ist  sergt.  Mar.  i  '64.  Oscar  Brokaw,  corp., 
Aug.  7  '62;  killed  at  Salem  Heights,  Va.,  May  3  '63. 
Lee  Chardavayne,  corp.,  Aug.  20  '61;  killed  at  Cold 
Harbor,  Va.,  June  3  '64;  tr.  from  Co.  E  2nd  N.  J.  Wil- 
liam Trelease,  Aug.  7  '62;  missing  (probably  killed)  at 
Laurel  Hill,  Va.,  May  8  '64;    appointed  corp.  May  i  '64. 

PRIVATES. 

With  a  few  exceptions,  which  are  noted,  these  men  en- 
listed for  three  years,  in  the  latter  part  of  July  or  early  in 
August  1862:  were  mustered  in  August  25th  following, 
and  mustered  out  June  2nd  1865: 

William  B.  Bailey,  missing  at  Spottsylvania  May  '64. 
Ezra  T.  Baldwin,  appointed  corp.  Aug.  9  '62;  private 
Jan.  I  '63.  Emanuel  Barton;  wounded  at  Salem  Heights 
May  3  '(^2,.  William  T.  Boyd.  John  H.  Brundage;  dis. 
Aug.  24  '65.  George  P:  Condict;  on  detailed  service. 
John  S.  Cook.  Edwin  A.  Doty;  appointed  corp.  July 
30  '62;  private  Apr.  30  '64-  William  Efner.  Silas  P. 
Genung.  Silas  J.  Guerin;  dis.  May  3  '61.  James  H. 
Hathaway.  Dennis  Heffern;  wounded  at  Spottsylvania 
May  '64.  George  W.  Hiler.  Hugh  H.  Layton.  Charles 
H.  Lewis.  Israel  D.  Lum;  appointed  sergt.  Aug.  7  '62; 
private  Oct.  9  '64.  Jacob  L.  Mattox.  John  R.  Mc- 
Cauley  jr.,  prom.  com.  sergt.  Jan.  i  '64;  ist  lieut.  Co.  D 
Feb.  9  '65;  brevet  capt.  Apr.  2  '65.  Robert  T.  McGowan. 
James  H.  Mills.  Jacob  L.  Morrison.  Patrick  B.  Murphy, 
musician;  wounded  at  Salem  Heights,  May  3  '63.  John 
N.  Naylor;  dr.;  mustered  Mar.  21  '65  for  one  year;  tr. 
from  Co.  D;  dis.  May  17  '65.  Albert  B.  Nicholas. 
Henry  Rose,  enlisted  and  mustered  July  8  '61;  tr.  from 
Co.  K  3d  N.  J.;  m.  o.  Aug.  10  '64.  William  Scott. 
Stephen  Smith,  wagoner.  Silas  Trowbridge;  wounded 
at  Spottsylvania,  May  '64.  Lewis  Turner;  wounded  at 
Spottsylvania,  May  '64.  Samuel  Tyler;  enlisted  and  mus- 
tered Sept.  25  '61;  tr.  from  Co.  G  3d  N.  J.;  m.  o.  Sept. 
25  '64.  Henry  A.  Westfall;  wounded  at  Strasburg,  Va., 
Aug.  15  '64;  dis.  May  3  '65.  Albert  W.  Whitehead. 
John  B.  Wilson,  enlisted  and  mustered  Aug.  26  '61;  tr. 
from  Co.  E  2nd  N.  J.  May  29  '64;  m.  o.  Sept.  12  '64. 

Discharged  (for  physical  disability  if  not  otherwise 
stated). — Lorenzo  Anderson;  dis.  Apr.  20  '63;  died  Apr. 
20  '63.  Benjamin  Booth,  enlisted  and  mustered  Dec.  31 
'63;  tr.  from  Co.  A;  dis.  Mar.  29  '64.  Halsey  Brannin, 
wounded  at  Salem  Heights,  May  3  '63;  dis.  Dec.  29  '64. 
James  H.  Cyphers;  dis.  May  4 '64.  Mulford  B.  Day; 
dis.  Apr.  28  '63.  Robert  Gray,  enlisted  and  mustered 
Jan.  4  '64;  tr.  from  Co.  D;  dis.  Mar.  29  '64.  Alfred 
Hopler;  dis.  Mar.  24  '63,  from  wounds  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Va.,  Dec.  13  '62.  Cornelius  ■  Hull,  enlisted  and 
mustered  Jan.  4  '64;  tr.  from  Co.  D;  dis.  Mar.  29  '64. 
Joseph  D.  King;  dis.  Jan.  19  '63.  Charles  Maxfield; 
dis.  Dec.  26  '62.  Daniel  A.  Porter,  enlisted  and  mus- 
tered Jan.  4 '64;  tr.  fromCo.  D;  dis.  Mar.  29 '64.  Erastus 
Rynearson;  dis.  Mar.  8  '64.  Abraham  Sawyer;  dis.  Jan. 
19  '63-  John  W.  Thompson;  dis.  Apr.  22  '64.  George 
Van  Houten;  dis.  Jan.  19  '63.  Robert  Whitham;  lost 
an  arm  at  Fredericksburg  May  3  '63;  dis.  Sept.  23  '63, 

Transferred. — (In  this  paragraph  the  dates  of  enlist- 
ment and  muster  immediately  follow  the  name;  in  most 
cases  they  were  the  same.  Next  follows  the  number  of 
years  for  which  the  man  entered  the  service.  The  trans- 
fer was  to  Co.  D  2nd  N.  J.,  June  21  '65,  where  not 
otherwise  mentioned).  Alfred  M.  Armstrong,  July  29  '62, 
Aug.  25  '62,  3;  wounded  at  Spottsylvania,  May  '61;  tr! 
to  V.  r.  c,  Sept.  30  '64;  dis.  July  8  '65.      George  Baker, 


COMPANIES  C  AND  F  FiFtEENtH  N.  J.  VOLUNTEERS. 


9i 


Mar.  24  '65,  I.      George  Barnes,  Mar.  i  '65,  i;    tr.  from 
Co.  K.     Luke  Barton,  May  11  '64,  3.     Frederick  Bauer, 
Apr.  5  '65,  i;  tr.  from  Co.  H.     Robert  Blair,  Apr.  7  '65, 
3.     Owen  Boehen,   Apr.   8  '65,    i.     William  B.   Brown, 
Mar.  I  '65,  i;  tr.  from  Co.  K.     James  H.  Bruen,  Oct.  10 
'64,  I.      George   Campbell,   Sept.    21  '64,   i;    to  Co.   K. 
Albert  Chaffer,  Mar.  i  '65,  i;    tr.  from  Co.  K.      Nelson 
Cook,  Aug.  13  '62,  Aug.  25  '62,  3;  to  V.  r.  c,  Jan.  15  '64; 
dis.  June  24  '65.     William  Cook,   Feb.  6  '65,  i;  tr.  from 
Co.  B.     Aaron  R.  Corson,  Apr.  3  '65,  i;  tr.  from  Co.  B. 
Jacob  D.  Dalrymple,  Aug.  25  '64;  to  Co.  H.     Samuel  D. 
Doty,  July  21  '62,  Aug.  25  '62,  3;  wounded  at  Spottsyl- 
vania.  May  '64;  tr.  to  v.  r.  c,  Jan.  i  '65;  dis.  Aug.  15  '65. 
Alonzo  Dow,  Aug.  25  '64,  3;  to  Co.  H.      Edward  Flan- 
nery.  Mar,  i  '65,  i;  tr.  from  Co.  K.     Jacob  Fooze,  Sept. 
3  '64,  i;  to  Co.  K.     Corydon  C.  Force,  Aug.  7  '62,  Aug. 
25  '62,  3;  to  V.  r.  c,  Jan.  7  '65;  dis.  July  21  '65.     Clem- 
ens Gansz,   Mar.   27  '65,    i;    tr.   from   Co.  H.     Michael 
Herwick,  Apr.  5  '65,  i;    tr.  from  Co.  K.      John   Hynes, 
Apr.  8  '65,  I.     David  P.  Ingle,  Jan.  4  64,  3;  tr.  from  Co. 
A.     Patrick  Kelly,  Mar.  25  '61,  i.      Frederick  Koblenz, 
Mar.  24  '65,  i.     Jacob  Kramer,  Mar.  24  '65,  3.      Henry 
Laugers,  George    Lauf   and    Louis    Long,   Mar.  25  '65. 
George  Mahoney,  Apr.  8  '65,  i.     John  J.  Mason,  Oct.  10 
'64,    I.      John    McDowell,    Mar.    23    '65.      William    B. 
McGill,  Apr.  6 '65,  i;     to  Co.  G.      Thomas    McGovern, 
Mar.  24  '65.     John  McGraw,  Apr.  7'  65,  3.     John  Miller, 
Feb.  14  '65,  I.      John   H.  Nicholas,  Aug.  7  '62,  3;    to  v. 
r.  c.  Nov.  15  '63;  dis.  July  27  '65.     Joseph  Noe,  Mar.  24 
'65,   I.     George   H.   Percy,   Aug.  12  '62,  Aug.  25  '62,  3; 
wounded  at  Salem  Heights  May  3  '63;   tr.  to  v.  r.  c.  Jan. 
15   '64;     dis.  July   13   '65.      John    Pettit,  Apr.  8  '65,  i. 
Patrick  Roach,  Mar.  25  '65,  i.     John  M.  Ryde,  Mar.  24 
'65,  I.      David  Sand  and  Lewis  D.   Sandborn,  Mar.  25 
'65,    I.       Charles    Schmidt,    Mar.    24    '65,    i.       Francis 
Sheldon  and  Thomas  A.  Shipps,  Mar.  25  '65,  i.     Walter 
A.   Sidener,   Jan.  4  '64,  3;    tr.    from    Co.    B.     Stephen 
Smack,  Aug.  5  '62,  3;    to  v.  r.  c.  Apr.  i  '65;    wounded 
May  3  '63,  in  hand;     dis.  June  21  '65.      Sidney  Stout, 
Aug.  25  '64,  i;  to  Co.  H.     Crosby  Sweeten,  Mar.  22  '65, 
i;  dr.     John  Tyson,  Aug.  7  '62,  Aug.  25  '62,  3;  wounded 
May  3  '63;    tr.  to  v.  r.  c.  June  15  '64;     dis.  Sept.  26  '64. 
John  Van  Eren,  Jan.  2  '64,  4;   tr.  from  Co.  A.     Christian 
Wagner,  Mar.  24  '65,  i. 

Died. — (These  men  entered  the  service  for  three  years, 
and  in  nearly  all  cases  were  enrolled  in  July  or  August 
1862  and  mustered  August  25th  1862.  Where  the  dates 
were  otherwise  they  are  given).  William  B.  Briggs; 
missing  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  8  '64;  probably 
killed.  Franklin  Camp;  died  of  typhoid  fever,  near 
White  Oak  Church,  Va.,  Dec.  24  '62.  I'rancis  Cunning- 
ham; died  of  typhoid  fever,  near  White  Oak  Church, 
Va.  Dec.  16  '62.  Edward  M.  Day;  killed  at  Cold  Har- 
bor' Va.,  June  i  '64.  Randolph  Earles;  died  at  Wash- 
ington, b.  C,  Dec.  '22  '62,  of  wounds  at  Fredericksburg, 
Dec.  13  '62.  Daniel  Estill;  died  of  typhoid  fever  near 
Brandy  Station,  Va.,  Dec.  28  '63.  George  Fenner,  May 
29  '61;  missing  at  Winchester,  Va.,  Aug.  17  '64;  tr.  from 
Co.  G  3d  N.  J.  Edgar  S.  Farrand;  killed  at  Spottsyl- 
vania Court-house,  Va.,  May  12  '64.  Smith  C.  Gage; 
died  at  Washington,  D.  C,  May  14  '63,  of  wounds  re- 
ceived at  Salem  Heights,  Va.,  May  3  '63.  John  Gay, 
Tan  4  '64;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house,  Va.,  May 
12  '64;  tr.  from  Co.  D.  Andrew  J.  Genung;  killed  at 
Spottsylvania  Court-house,  Va.,  May  12  '64.  Qumcy 
Grimes;  died  of  disease  at  Warrenton,  Va.,  Sept.  8 
'6^  Theodore  Guerin;  died  of  typhoid  fever,  near 
White  Oak  Church,  Va.,  Feb.  23  '63.  Jeremiah  Hay- 
cock: killed  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  8  '64.  Otto 
Heimelsback,  May  28  '61;  killed  at  Cedar  Creek,  Va., 
Oct   19  '64;  tr.  from  Co.  E  2nd  N.  J.     James  H.  Hiler; 


killed  at  Salem  Heights,  Va.,  May  3  '63.  Alfred  Hopler; 
wounded  Dec.  13  '62  at  Fredericksbutg;  died  in  hospital 
in  Philadelphia,  March  24  'dj,  Virgil  Howell;  died  of 
typhoid  fever,  near  White  Oak  Church,  Va.,  Dec.  20  '62. 
Moses  Laramie;  captured  at  Spottsylvania,  May  '64; 
died  of  scurvy,  at  Anderson ville,  Ga.,  Nov.  20  '64.  John 
Miller;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house,  Va.,  May 
12  '64.  William  Oliver;  killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va., 
June  I  '64.  Thomas  Phipps;  died  of  typhoid  fever,  at 
"windmill  Point,  Va.,  Jan.  31  '63.  Edwin  H.  Reger,  Feb. 
27  '64;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house,  Va.,  May  12 
'64.  William  Reynolds;  died  of  fever,  near  Petersburg, 
Va.,  Feb.  5  '65.  John  Rutan;  killed  at  Spottsylvania 
Court-house,  Va.,  May  12  '64.  William  M.  Shipman; 
killed  at  Salem  Heights,  Va.,  May  3  '63.  Samuel  T. 
Sidener;  died  of  typhoid  fever,  near  White  Oak  Church, 
Va.,  Dec.  26  '62.  William  E.  Simpson;  wounded  May  3 
'63;  killed  at  Cedar  Creek,  Va.,  Oct.  19  '64.  Matthias 
Sona,  Jan.  4  '64;  died  at  Winchester,  Va.,  Sept.  19  '64, 
of  wounds  received  at  Opequan.  William  Storms;  killed  at 
Salem  Heights, Va.,  May  3  '63.  Peter  J.  Vanderhoof ;  died 
of  typhoid  fever  at  White  Oak  Church,  Va.,  Dec.  28  '62. 

COMPANY     F. 

OFFtCERS. 

Captains. — George  C.  King,  mustered  Aug.  25  '62;  re- 
signed April  7  '63,  at  White  Oak  Church,  Va.;  died  at 
Chester.  Thomas  P.  Stout,  pro.  April  26  '(^t,  from  ist 
lieut.  Co.  A;  wounded  May  3d  '63,  at  Salem  Heights, 
Va.;  tr.  to  v.  r.  c.  Nov.  i  '63.  Ellis  Hamilton,  pro.  Nov. 
4  '63  from  ist  lieut.  Co.  E;  wounded  May  6  '64  in  Wil- 
derness,.  Va.;  died  of  wounds  May  27  '64.  James  W. 
Penrose,  pro.  July  27  '64  from  ist  lieut.;  April  i  '63 
from  private  U.  S.  A. 

First  Lieutenants. —  Owen  H.  Day,  pro.  Aug.  25  '62 
from  color  sergt.  3d  N.  J.;  pro.  capt.  Co.  I  Jan.  ig  '63. 
John  H.  Vanderveer,  mustered  as  2nd  lieut.  Aug.  25  '62; 
ist  lieut.  April  14  '63;  resigned  July  28  '63.  Menrath 
Weyer,  pro.  July  3  '64  from  sergt.  Co.  C;  tr.  to  C(3.  E 
2nd  N.  J.  June  22  '65. 

Second  Lieutenants. — Gaston  Everit,  April  14  '63  from 
Co.  I  7th  N.  J.;  resigned  May  24  '63.  Edmund  D.  Hal- 
sey,  commissioned  June  '63;  pro.  ist  lieut.  Co.  D  before 
being  mustered.  James  Van  Antwerp,  pro.  from  ist 
sergt.  Co.  E  Sept.  28  '64;  pro.  ist  lieut.  Co.  I  Feb.  9 
'65.  Morris  S.  Hawn  jr.,  sergt.  Co.  B  April  17  '65;  tr.  to 
Co.  D  2nd  regiment  June  21  '65. 

Sergeants. — Enos  G.  Budd;  wounded  May  9  '64,  at 
Spottsylvania,  Va.;  pro.  ist.  lieut.  Co.  C  July  3  '64;  not 
mustered;  dis.  May  3  '65.  Manning  F.  McDougal,  killed 
June  I  '64  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va.  Phineas  H.  Skellinger, 
wounded  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  8  '64;  died  from 
wounds,  May  27  '64.  Elias  H.  Carlisle;  killed  June  4 
'64,  at  Cold  Harbor.  Andrew  F.  Salmon,  wounded  May 
12  '64,  at  Spottysvania,  Va.;  died  of  wound  May  20  '64, 
at  Fredericksburg. 

Corporals. — Lewis  H.  Salmon;  pro.  sergt.  April  i  '63; 
wounded  May  12  '64  at  Spottsylvania.  ■  John  L.  Larri- 
son;  wounded  May  3  '63  at  Salem  Heights;  pro.  sergt. 
Oct.  I  '63;  captured  a  rebel  flag  May  10*64.  Alexander 
T.  Beatty;  died  Feb.  10  '63,  at  Washington,  D.  C,  of 
disease.  John  R.  McCain;  dis.  for  disability  March  23 
'64;  died  of  disease  in  June  '64.  William  H.  Bowman; 
died  June  i  '63,  of  fever,  at  White  Oak  Church,  Va. 
John  Parliament.  George  W.  Laskie:  deserted  Nov.  11 
'63,  from  hospital  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.  George  S.  M. 
WoodhuU;  wounded  May  3  '63  at  Saleni  Heights,  Va. ; 
pro.  sergt.  Oct.  i  '64. 

Musicians. — William  H.  Smith  and  Theodore  F.  Swayze, 
drummers;  dis.  Feb.  17  '64,  at  Brandy  Station,  by  special 
order  of  the  War  Department. 


02 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


PRIVATES. 

Lewis    Ammerman;    died   of    disease   at   White    Oak 
Church,  Va.,  Mch.  3r,  '63.     Joseph  Anthony;  wounded 
May  12  '64  at  Spotlsylvania,  Va.     Amos  G.  Bali;  tr.  to 
V.  r.  c.  Jan.  13  '65.    John  P.  Bean;  dis.  Jan.  3  '63  at  White 
Oak  Church,  for  disability.     Henry  H.  Berry;  wounded 
May  12  '64,  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.    John  W.  Berry;  killed 
at  Spottsylvania,  Va.  (Gault  House),  May  17  '64.     Felix 
Cash;  wounded  at  Salem  Heights,  Va.,  May  3  '63;  died 
of  wounds  May  15  '63,  at  Potomac  Creek.     Warren  N. 
Clawson;    died    at   Washington,    May    20    '64.     Charles 
Covert;  killed  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  8  '64.     John 
Carlile,  wounded  June  2  '64,  at  Cold   Harbor,  Va.;  pro. 
Corp.   March    i   '65.     Thomas  Clark;  deserted  Mch.   18 
'63,  at  White  Oak   Church.      Henry  B.   Crampton;    on 
detailed  service.     Josejih  V.  M.  Crampton;  dis.  for  dis- 
ability June  21  '63,  at  White  Oak  Church,  Va.     Joseph 
Crater;    pro.   corp.   April    i    '6;^;    wounded    May   8   '64. 
Charles  Davenport;  tr.  to  v.  r.  c.  March  15  '64.    William 
Davenport;  deserted  Sept.  6  '62,  from  Camp  Morris,  D.  C. 
John  Dee;  teamster.    AVilliam  H.  K.  Emmons;  pro.  corp. 
April  I  '63;  tr.  to  color  guard  June  i  '63;  wounded  in 
foot  May  12  '64,  at  Spottsylvania,  Va,;  returned  to  the 
guard  Dec.  26  '64.     George  D.  Foulds;  killed  at  Spott- 
sylvania, Va.,  May  12  '64.     Isaiah  D.  Frutchey;  wounded 
May  12  '64,  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.     Jeremiah  Foley;  tr. 
to  v.  r.  c.  Sept.   21   '63.     George  R.  Geddes;  wounded 
May  3  '63,  at  SaJem  Heights,  Va.;  pro.  corp.  Sept.  i  '64. 
William  Gulick;  dis.  for  disability  A])ril  21,  '63,  at  White 
Oak    Church,    Va.;    died    Aug.    24    '8r.     Jacob    Guest; 
wounded   Sept.  19  '64,  at  AVinchester,  Va.     John   Grey; 
on  detailed  service.     George  R.  and  John  Hall;  team- 
sters.    Charles  Heck;  died  at  Washington,  D.  C,  March 
30  '64,  of  disease.     Zeno  A.  Hawkins;  dis.  April  27  '6^, 
at  White  Oak  Church,  Va.,  for  disability.     Alonzo   Hed- 
den;    pro.   corp.  Dec.    29   '62;    wounded  May   8   '64,  at 
Spottsylvania.     James  Hoover.     Anthony  Hopler;  died 
Jan.  5  '63,  at  White  Oak  Church,  Va.,  of  fever.     James 
M.  Ingle;  wounded   May  12  '64,   at  Spottsylvania;  dis. 
for  wounds  Jan.   10  '65.      Abraham  Jacobus;    wounded 
May    7  2    '64,    at    Spottsylvania,    Va.      Benjamin    Kane; 
wounded   May   3   '63,   at  Salem   Heights,   Va.;    dis.   for 
wound  Oct.  23  '63.     W'hitfield  Lake;  wounded  and  miss- 
ing (probably  killed),  May  12   '64,  at  Spottsylvania,  Va. 
Jacob   Lamerson;  died  Feb.  18  '63,  of  disease,  at  White 
Oak  Church,  Va.     David  C.   Lance;  wounded   May  12 
'64,  at  Spottsylvania.     James  Laterette;  wounded  May 
12  '64,  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.     Daniel   Morgan;  lost  arm 
May  3   '63,   at    Fredericksburg,   Va.;    dis.    Oct.    27   '63. 
Charles    Milligan;    pro.    sergt.    Sept.    i    '64  from    corp.; 
killed    Sept.    19    '64,    at   Winchester,    Va.      Samuel    L. 
Meeker;  on  recruiting  service  for  one  year.     William  W. 
Opdycke;  wounded  May  3   '63,  at  Salem  Heights,  Va.; 
after  return  detailed   as  teamster.      Andrew  Opdycke; 
wounded   May  12   '64,  at   Spottsylvania,  Va.     Frank  H. 
O'Neil;    wounded   and  taken   prisoner  Aug.    17   '64,  at 
Winchester,  Va.;  released  Mch.  9  '65.     Joseph  Osborne; 
on   detailed  service.     William  H.  Parliament;    deserted 
July  10   '63,   at  Funkstown,   Md.     Jacob  A.   Peckwell; 
killed   at   Spottsylvania,  Va.,    May   12   '64,     George  C. 
Reid;  slightly  wounded  Dec.  14 '62;  on  recruiting  duty 
one   year.       William    H.    Rarick;    dis.    for    rheumatism 
March  17 '64,  at  Newark,  N.  J.    Ezekiel  Rarick.    William 
H.  Sergeant;  died  March  17  '63,  at  ^Vhite  Oak  Church, 
Va.,  of  disease.     Alexander  S.  Sergeant;  killed  at  Fred- 
ericksburg, Va.,  Dec.  13  '62.     James  Sprague;  killed  at 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  in  the  morning  of  May  3  '63.     John 
Scales;  on  detailed  service,  quartermaster's  department. 
Frederick  Starr;    ambulance  corps;    died  at  Rockawaj-, 
N.  J.,  April  24  '74.     Peter  J.  Sutton;  missing  in  action 
Aug.  17  '64,  at  Winchester,  Va.;  died  at  Lynchburg,  Va., 


Oct.  18  '64.  John  D.  Salmon;  died  March  27  '63,  at 
White  Oak  Church,  Va.,  of  fever.  David  Todd;  died 
March  5  '63,  at  White  Oak  Church,  Va.,  of  general  de- 
bility. Peter  Van  Arsdale;  dis.  Sept.  5  '63,  at  Washmg- 
ton,  D.  C,  for  disability.  Isaac  Van  Arsdale;  died  Sept. 
22  '64,  from  wounds  received  Sept.  ig  '64.  Benajah  D. 
Wear;  died  May  9  '63,  at  White  Oak  Church,  Va.,  of 
disease.  Lawrence  H.  Weise;  wounded  May  12  '64,  at 
Spottsylvania,  Va.  Elias  Williamson;  killed  at  Spott- 
sylvania, May  12  '64.  John  AVilliamson;  dis.  Nov.  28 
'6;^,  for  disability. 

RECRUITS. 

On  Thursday,  January  20th  1864,  some  twenty  re- 
cruits from  Morris  county  joined  the  15th  regiment,  and 
during  the  winter  others  from  Morris  and  Sussex.  "J"he 
following  is  a  list  of  them  and  the  companies  to  which 
they  were  assigned: 

Wesley  M.  Ayres,  Co.  D,  Jan.  4  '64;  missing  in  action 
May  8  '64.     William  P.  Bryan,  Co.  A,  Feb.  29  '64;  tr.  to 
Co.  F  2nd  N.  J.,  June  21  '65.     Jonathan  B.  Bowman,  Co. 
A,  Jan.  4  '64;'  tr.  to    Co.  D;    dis.  Mar.   27  '64.       Jacob 
Beam,  Co.  A,  Jan.  21  64;    killed  May  8  '64.      Benjamin 
Booth,  Co.  A,  Dec.  31  '63;  tr.  to  Co.  C;  dis.  Mar.  29  '64. 
John    Bowman,  Co.   D,  Jan.    19   '64;    died   June    20  of 
wounds    received    June    i  '64.       David    Cantrell,  Co.  A, 
Dec.  15  '63;  tr.  to  Co.  I;  transferred  to  Co.  E  2nd  N.  J., 
June    21    '65.      Andrew    C.    Clauson,    Co.    A;    deserted 
Aug.  25  '62;  returned.     William  C.  Cearfoss,  Co.  H,  Jan. 
6  '64;  killed  May  12  '64.       Nelson  L.  Cole,  Co.  I,  Jan.  4 
'64;    tr.  to  Co.  K  2nd  N.  J.,  June  21  '65.     John  Card  jr., 
Co.  K,  Feb.  25  '64;    tr.  to  C^o.  H  2nd  N.  J.  June  21  '65. 
.'Vndrew    Deeker,   Co.    D,   Jan.   4  '64;    dis.  Apr.    13  '64. 
David  L.  Denee,  corp.,  Co.   D,  Dec.  29  '6;^;    tr.  to  Co.  I 
2nd  N.  J.       Benjamin   Drake,  Co.  D,  Dec.  29  '63;    died 
Feb.  22  '64  of  disease.     Levi  Deeker,  Co.  K,  Feb.  25  '64; 
tr.  to  Co.  H  2nd  N.  J.  June  21  '65.     John  Evans,  Co.  A, 
May  '64;  missing  May  12    '64.     Joseph  C.  Everett,  Co. 
A,  Jan.  6  '64;    killed  May  12  '64.       Lorenzo  D.  Fulford, 
Co.  D,  Dec.  29  '63;  missing  May  8  '64.     William  Gulick, 
Co.  A.,  Feb.  25  '64;    tr.  to  Co.  F  2nd  N.  J.  June  21  '65. 
Robert  Gray,  Co.  D,  Jan.  4  '64;     tr.  to  Co.  C;    dis.  Mar. 
29  '64.       John    Gay,  Co.  D;    tr.  to  Co.  C;   killed  May  12 
'64.     John  M.  Goucher,  Co.  D,  Jan.  4  '64;  died  Mar.  24 
'64  of  disease.     Van  Meter   P.  Hammitt,  Co.  A,  Nov.  12 
'63;  tr.  to  Co.  G  2nd  N.  J.  June  21  '65.     Abraham  Hen- 
dershot,  Co.  A,  Dec.  17  '63;  tr.  to  Co.  D;    died  in  rebel 
prison  in  Danville  Jan.  6  '65.     John  Hopkins,  Co.  A,  Nov. 
19  '63;  tr.  to  Co.  D;  died  June  18 '64  of  wounds  received 
May  12      Charles  Hand,  Co.  B,  Jan.  4  '64;  dis.  June   17 
'65.     Cornelius    Hull,  Co.  D,  Jan.    4  '64;    tr.    to    Co.  B; 
dis.  Mar.   29  '64  for  disease.     Gustave  Hartwig;  tr.  from 
Co.  E  2nd.  Stephen  Hawkins,  Co.  D,  Jan.  4  '64;  tr.  to  v.  r. 
c.  Jan.   I   '65.     Patrick  Hughes,    Co.    D,   Dec.    30    '63; 
killed  May  8  '64.     Lemuel  Hardick,  Co.  I  Jan.  4  '64;  tr. 
to  Co.  E  2nd  N.  J.  June  21  '65.     Uriah  Hardick,  Co.  I, 
Dec.  29  '63;  tr.  to  Co.  E  2nd  N.  J.  June  21  '65.     George 
Heaney,  Co.  G,  Jan.  2  '64;  tr.  to  Co.  G  2nd  N.  J.  June 
21  '65.     Henry  J.  Hendershot,  Co.  G  Jan.   18  '64;  tr.  to 
Co.  E  2nd  N.  J.  June  21  '65.     David  P.  Ingle,  Co.  A 
Jan.  4  '64;  tr.  to  Co.  C;  tr.  to  Co.  D  2nd  N.  J.  June  21 
'65.     Alfred  B.  Jackson,  Co.  A,  Jan.  2  '64;  tr.  to  Co.  D; 
killed  May  8  '64.      Abram    Johnson  jr.,  Co.  A,  Nov.  19 
'63;  tr.  to  Co.  D;  killed  May  8  '64.      Bernard  Johnson, 
Co.  A,  Dec.  31  '6y,     tr.  to  Co.  D;     died  May  20  '64  of 
wounds  received  May  8.     James  M.  Jervis,  Co.  D,  Jan. 
2  '64;  dis.  at  Camp  Parole  Apr.  28  '64.     James  Johnson, 
Co.  D,  Dec.  28  '63;     died  July  6  '64  of  typhoidfever,  at 
Philadelphia.      Daniel  W.  Kithcart,  corp.  Co.  D,  Jan.  4 
'64;  tr.   to   Co.   C;    tr.  to  Co.  D   2nd   N.  J.  June   2  '65. 
Amos  C.  Keepers,  Co.  C,  Jan.  4  '64;  dis.  Mar.  27  '64. 


THE  TWENTY-SEVENTH  N.  J.  VOLUNTEERS. 


93 


John  Knapp,  Co.  K,  Dec.  22  '63;  deserted  May  10  '64  at 
Spottsylvania.      William    H.    List,    Co.    I,  Dec.  29  '63; 
killed  June  i  '64.     Joseph  Langdon,  Co.  A,  Dec.  14  '63; 
tr.  to  Co.  I;  tr.  to  U.  S.  N.  Apr.  8  '64.      Jacob  Lawson, 
Corp.,  Co.  I,  Jan.  4  '64;     tr.  to  Co.  E  2nd  N.  J.  June  21 
'65.      Peter  Langdon,  Co.  D,  Feb.  12  '64;    died  June  25 
'64  of  wounds  received  May  12;  tr.  from  Co.  C  2nd  N.  J. 
John    Moser,   Co.  A,  Feb.  24  '64;     dis.  June  7  '65  for 
wounds  received  May  12  '64.      Thomas  McGarvey,  Co. 
A,  Dec.  19  '63;  tr.  to  Co.  D;  dis.  Apr.  13  '64  by  medical 
board.     Patrick  Mullens,  Co.  A,  Nov.  19  '63;     tr.  to  Co. 
D;  killed  May  12  '64.     John  H.  Mott,  Co.  13,  Jan.  5  '64; 
dis.  Dec.  24  '64  for  disease.      John  Moran,  Co.  D,  Dec. 
31  '63;  killed  May  12  '64.     Mordecai  Mott,  Co.  D,  Dec. 
29  '63;    died  of  consumption   June   9  '64,  on   furlough. 
William  Myers,  Co.  I,  Jan.  2  '64;  died  of  disease  at  Ciiy 
Point,  July  I  '64.      John  Ozenbaugh,  Co.  I,  Dec.  29  '63; 
dis.  Mar.  27  '64  for  disease.      Daniel   A.  Porter,  Co.  D, 
Jan.  4  '64;  tr.  to  Co.  C;  dis.  Mar.  29  '64.    Isaac  Paddock, 
Co.    K,    Feb.     25     '64;    tr.     to     Co.     H     2nd     N.    J. 
June     2t     '65.     John     Rouch,    Co.     A,    Feb.    26    '64; 
deserted  June  3  '64  at  Cold  Harbor.  Edwin  H.  Reger,  Co. 
C,  Feb.    27   '64;     killed    May    12    '64.     Ezekiel    Rarick, 
Co.  F,  Jan.  4  '64;  tr.  to  Co.  F  2nd  N.  J.  June  21   '65. 
Charles  E.  Smiley,  Co.  A,  Feb.  24  '64;  tr.  to  Co.  F  2nd 
N.  J.     Charles  B.  Stewart,  Co.  A,  Dec.  16  '63;  tr.  to  Co. 
I;  tr.  to  Co.  E  2nd  N.  J.  June  21  '65.     John  C.  Staats, 
Co.  A,  Jan.   6  '64;   died  at  Andersonville  Sept.  17  '64. 
Theodore  Stamcts,  Co.  A,  Feb.  24  '64;  missing  May  6  '64; 
supposed  killed.     Walter  A.  Sidener,  Co.  B,  Jan.  4  '64; 
tr.  to  Co.  C;  tr  to  Co.  D  2nd  N.  J.  June  28  '65.     William 
F.  Sidener,  Co.  B,  Jan.  4  '64;  killed  May  12  '64.     Mat- 
thias Sona,  Co.  C,  Jan.  4  '64;  died  Sept.  19  '64,  of  wounds; 
tr.  from  Co.  E  2nd.    Samuel  S.  Str-ifford,  Co.  D,  Dec.  31 
'63;  dis.  Mch.  31  '64,  by  medical  board.     Guthrie  Strat- 
ton,  Co.  D,  Dec.   28  63;  tr.  to  Co.  I;  dis.  Mch.  27  '64. 
Lewis  Stalter,  Co.  I,  Jan.  4  '64;  tr.  to  Co.  E  2nd  N.  J.  June 
21  '65.     Amzi  Straight,  Co.  K,  Feb.  25  '64;  tr.  to  Co.  H 
2nd  N.  J.  June  2  1  '65.     John  Van   Eiten,  Co.  A,  Jan.  2 
'64;   tr.  to  Co.  C;  tr.  to  Co.  D,  2nd  N.  J.     John  White, 
Co.  A,  Feb.  24  '64;  dis.  June  20  '65.  Watson  "Wintermuie, 
Co.  A,  Feb.  29  '64;    tr.  to  Co.  D;    tr.  to  Co.  I  2nd  N.  J. 
June  21  '65.    Augustus  Whitney,  Co.  A,  Jan.  4  '64;  died 
June  14  '64,  of  wounds  received  May  8  '64;  tr.  from  Co. 
E  3d  N.  J.     William  A.  Ward,  Co.  D,  Dec.  29  '63;  killed 
May  12  '64.    Jacob  Wireman,  Co.  L  Jan.  4  '64;  tr.  to  Co. 
E  2nd  N.  J.    William  Wilson,  Co.  K,  Oct.  g  '63;  died  at 
Sandy  Hook,  Md.,  Sept.  4  '64,  of  wounds  received  Aug. 
15  '64,  at  Strasburg,  Va.     Charles  V.  Young,  Co.  D,  Jan. 
13  '64;  died  iu  ambulance  June  i  '64. 


CHAPTER   XVHL 


HISTORY    OF    THE    27TH    NEW    JERSEY    VOLUNTEER  INFAN- 
TRY— THE    CUMBERLAND    RIVER   DISASTER. 


*N  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  act  of 
July  22nd  1861  a  draft  of  10,478  nine-months 
men  was  made  August  4th  1862  in  this  State, 
and  the   allotment  for  this  county  was,  650 
men.     The   arrangements   for  the  draft  did 
not  interfere  with  volunteering,  and  from  Morris 
county  companies  were  at  once  raised  in  this  way 
for  the  27tli  regiment,  viz.:  Company  B,  Captain  John 


T.  Alexander,  from  Randolph  and  Washington;  Com- 
pany C,  Captain  Nelson  H.  Drake,  from  Roxbury;  Com- 
pany E,  Captain  August  D.  Blanchet,  from  Chatham, 
Hanover,  etc.;  Company  G,  Captain  James  Plant,  from 
Pequannock;  Company  I,  Captain  Alfred  H.  Condict, 
from  Morris  and  Chester;  Company  L,  Captain  Henry 
F.  Willis,  from  Rockaway. 

George  W.  Mindel  was  colonel  of  the  regiment.  Au- 
gustus D.  Blanchet  was  commissioned  major  September 
23d  1862,  being  promoted  from  the  captaincy  of  Com- 
pany E.  J.  Henry  Stiger  was  assistant  surgeon  of  this 
regiment,  as  also  of  the  33d. 

The  regiment  was  mustered  September  19th  1862,  and 
left  the  State  for  Washington  October  loth  1862.  On 
arriving  there  it  encamped  on  Capitol  Hill,  and  soon  af- 
ter at  Alexandria,  where  it  was  assigned  to  the  2nd  bri- 
gade of  Casey's  division,  defending  Washington.  On  the 
ist  of  December  it  went  to  the  front  of  the  army  of  the 
Potomac,  being  assigned  to  the  gih  corps.  In  that  con- 
nection it  was  engaged  at  Fredericksburg,  December 
13th  and  14th  1862.  In  February  1863  the  corps  went 
to  Newport  News,  Va.,  to  meet  a  threatened  movement 
of  the  enemy.  In  the  following  month  the  27th  was  de- 
tached from  the  9th.  corps  and  sent  to  the  west.  On  its 
way  home  after  the  expiration  of  its  term  it  remained  in 
Pittsburg  and  Harrisburg  ten  days  to  aid  if  needed  in 
repelling  Lee's  invasion  of  Pennsylvania.  The  regiment 
was  mustered  out  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  July  2nd  1863. 

The  principal  loss  of  the  regiment  occurred  May  6lli 
1863,  as  related  below  substantially  in  the  words  of  a 
member  of  the  regiment,  who  wrote  from  near  Somerset, 
Ky.,  four  days  after  the  affair: 

"Last  Tuesday  we  received  a  lot  of  tents  borrowed 
from  a  cavalry  regiment.  We  had  hardly  pitched  them 
when  a  most  bountiful  storm  visited  us,  but  my  tentmates 
and  myself  were  prudent  men,  for  we  built  our  house  up- 
on a  rock.  The  storm  had  just  passed  over  when  our 
adjutant  ordered  tents  to  be  struck  and  line  of  march 
formed  in  fifteen  minutes.  In  less  than  the  allotted  time 
the  27th  was  in  line,  ready  for  the  word.  The  mud  in  the 
road  was  deep,  and,  as  it  is  very  'unmilitary'  to  let  down 
fences  and  walk  on  the  sod,  we  splashed  through  it  until 
about  3  o'clock  p.  m.,  when  we  encamped  on  a  hill  at 
whose  foot  flowed  a  splendid  stream  of  clear  cold  water. 
Here  Dayton  and  I  fired  a  mammoth  brush  heap,  by 
which  we  cooked  our  bacon,  boiled  our  coffee,  and  dried 
our  tents  and  blankets. 

"  In  the  morning  bright  and  early  we  started  for  the 
Cumberland  River,  a  distance  of  thirteen  miles.  We 
reached  its  banks  at  3  o'clock  p.  M.  The  means  of 
ferrying  us  over  was  flat  boats — or,  rather,  coal  barges — 
thirty  feet  long.  To  prevent  the  boats  being  washed 
down  by  the  current  two  ropes  were  stretched  across 
like  a  letter  V,  the  two  uniting  in  one  on  the  opposite 
shore.  The  means  of  propelling  us  consisted  of  six  men 
placed  in  the  bow  of  the  boat,  who  would  grab  the  rope, 
pull,  let  go  and  grab  sgain.  The  upper  rope  was  used 
by  the  infantry,  while  the  artillery  and  transportation 
train  were  carried  over  by  the  lower  boat.  All  the  com- 
panies with  the  exception  of  parts  of  companies  C,  B,  and 
L  had  passed  over  without  accident.  Fifty  or  sixty  men 
were  carried  over  at  each  trip.  Captain  Alexander  was 
in  command  of  Company  L.  The  boat  that  contained 
these  companies  had  reached  within  forty  feet  of  the  07- 


94 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


posite  bank  when  the  men  at  the  bow  lost  hold  of  the 
rope  and  could  not  regain  it.  The  boat  started  down 
stream,  driven  by  a  rapid  current.  The  men  became 
panic  stricken  and  rushed  to  the  opposite  end  of  the  boat, 
which  caused  it  to  sink,  and  in  less  time  than  it  has  taken 
me  to  write  this  account  the  whole  boat-load  was  swept 
by  the  lower  rope  into  the  rapid  Cumberland.  Those 
who  could  swim  were  seized  by  the  death  grasp  of  those 
who  could  not  swim.  It  was  an  awful  sight.  May  God 
spare  me  from  being  again  a  spectator  of  such  a  scene. 
The  men  had  on  their  cartridge  boxes,  filled  with  sixty 
rounds,  and  were  fully  armed,  and  equipped  with  tents, 
overcoats,  blankets  etc.,  which  hindered  many  from  sav- 
ing themselves.  I  saw  Captain  Alexander  and  Orderly 
Sergeant  Wiggins  go  down.  Company  B  lost  three  men. 
Company  C  nine  and  Companies  L  and  A  twenty. 

"After  the  accident  we  remained  on  the  bank  a  day  for 
the  purpose  of  recovering  the  bodies  that  might  float  to 
our  side  of  the  river,  as  the  rebels  held  the  otber  side." 

The  following  are  rolls  of  the  Morris  county  com- 
panies in  the  27th.  The  men  named  entered  the  service 
for  nine  months,  and  as  a  rule  were  enrolled  or  com- 
missioned September  3d  and  mustered  in  September  19th 
1862,  and  mustered  out  July  2nd  1863.  The  exceptions 
are  indicated. 

COMPANY     B. 

OFFICERS. 

Captains. — John  T.  Alexander,  commissioned  Sept.  6 
'62,  mustered  Sept.  19  '62;  drowned  in  Cumberland 
River,  near  Somerset,  Ky.,  May  6  '63.  Nathaniel  K. 
Bray,  commissioned  and  rnustered  May  7  '63;  appointed 
ist  lieut.  Co.  D  Sept.  3  '62. 

First  Lieutenant. — Jacob  M.  Stewart,  commissioned 
Sept.  6  '62;  mustered  Sept.  19  '62. 

Second  Lieutenant. — George  Hance,  commissioned  Sept. 
6  '62;  mustered  Sept.  ig  '62. 

First  Sergeant. — Theodore  McEachron;  appointed 
sergt.  Sept.  3  '62;   ist  sergt.  May  12  '63. 

Sergeants. — Morris  H.  Taylor,  Jan.  i  '63;  corp.  Sept.  20 
'62.  Isaac  Clark,  Sept.  20  '62;  corp.  Sept.  3  '62.  Frank 
Merchant,  Jan.  i  '63;  corp.  Sept.  3  '62.  Charles  Min- 
gus.  May  12  '63;  corp.  Sept.  3  '62. 

Corporals  (with  date  of  commission  as  such). — Samuel 
Smith,  Sylvester  C.  Hulbert  and  Daniel  K.  Henderson, 
Sept.  20  '62.  Henry  B.  Allen,  Nov.  15  '62;  mustered  in 
Oct.  16  '62.  Joseph  Hiler  and  William  H.  Ort,  Feb.  7 
'62,-  John  Johnson,  March  2  '63.  Alexander  L.  Mott, 
May  12  '63. 

Died. — Albert  D.  Wiggins,  ist  sergt.;  drowned  in 
Cumberland  River,  near  Somerset,  Ky.,  May  6  '63. 

PRIVATES. 

Jacob  Abers  (musician).  Peter  K  Abers  (wagoner). 
Henry  B.  Anthony.  Moses  Beach.  Theodore  Beam. 
George  Bolton;  mustered  in  Oct.  16  '62.  William  Bon- 
nell.  Joseph  and  William  Bournan.  Thomas  S.  Boyd. 
Samuel  P.  Broadwell.  Isaac  H.  Burnett.  Francis  Cain. 
Johnson  Clark.  Charles  Conrad.  James  Convey;  must- 
ered in  Oct.  16  '62.  Charles  Y.  and  Lewis  H.  Cook. 
David  E.  and  Ira  C.  Cooper.  John  B  Crane  and  Peter 
Cruyse;  mustered  in  Oct.  16  '62.  David  Davenport. 
Cyrus  and  Martin  Dixon.  Patrick  Donahue;  mustered 
in  Oct.  16 '62.  David  Eagles.  Ezekiel  A.  Frace.  Hud- 
son H.  Gillen.  Henry  Hann.  Joseph  S.  Hart.  An- 
drew Hockenbury.  Lemuel  and  Mannus  Hoffman. 
Leonard  N.  Howell.  George  W.  Hulburt;  appointed 
sergt.  Sept.   3  '62;  private  Jan.  i  '63.     John   H.   Kaun- 


miller.  Nathaniel  Lawrence.  George  D.  and  James  H. 
Losey.  Andrew  J.  and  James  H.  Miller.  F.  P.  and 
Thomas  A.  Moore.  Theodore  F.  Mott;  appointed  sergt. 
Sept.  3  '62;  private  Jan.  i  '6^,.  Alfred  and  Samuel 
Nunn.  Daniel  Parks.  David  L.  Powers.  George  W. 
Sayre,  musician.  John  and  William  Schuyler.  James 
Seguine.  John  Shawger;  mustered  in  Oct.  16  '62. 
Erastus  H.  Sofield.  Jacob  B.  Swayze;  mustered  in  Oct. 
16  '62.  Jacob  J.  Tallman.  David  A.  Trowbridge. 
Garrett  Vandroof.  Peter  Vanderveer;  mustered  in  Oct. 
16  '62.  Whitfield  H.  Voorhees.  Leonard  F.  Wack. 
George  H.  Wolfe.  Samuel  A.  Wolfe;  mustered  in  Oct. 
16 '62.     Hiram  C.  Woods.     George  H.  and  Ira  W.  Young. 

Discharged  (for  disability). — James  Nunn;  dis.  Mar. 
16  '63;  appointed  corp.  Sept.  3  '62;  private  Nov.  i  '62. 
William  Pulis,  mustered  in  Oct.  16  '62;  dis.  Feb.  2  '63. 
George  W.  Shaffer,  mustered  in  Oct.  16  '62;  dis.  Mar. 
27  '63.  David  Squires;  dis.  Nov.  16  '62.  James  L. 
Talmadge;  dis.  Jan.  17  '()t,.  Gabriel  Tebo,  mustered  in 
Oct.  t6  '62;  dis.  Jan.  5  '63. 

Died. — Erastus  Brant,  mustered  in  Oct.  16  '62;  drowned 
in  Cumberland  River,  near  Somerset,  Ky.,  May  6  '63. 
William  Daly;  at  Newport  News,  Va.,  Feb.  20  '63.  Wil- 
liam D.  Hopler;  of  typhoid  fever,  at  Aquia  Creek,  Va., 
II  '63.  Daniel  D.  Tuttle;  of  typhoid  fever,  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  Mar.   i  'G^. 

COMPANY    C. 

OFFICERS. 

Captains. — Nelson  H.  Drake,  commissioned  Sept.  6 
and  mustered  Sept.  19  '62;  resigned  Oct.  13  '(it,.  David 
S.  Allen,  commissioned  Oct.  14  and  mustered  Oct.  24 
'62;  appointed  2nd  lieut.  Sept.  6  '62. 

First  Lieutenant. — Ferdinand  V.  Wolfe,  commissioned 
Sept.  6  and  mustered  Sept.  19  '62. 

Second  Lieutenants. — Robert  W.  Simpson,  commissioned 
Oct.  14  and  mustered  Oct.  24  '62;  formerly  sergt.  Co.  H 
2nd  N.  J.;  pro.  ist  lieut.  Co.  K  Dec.  23  '62.  Henry 
A.  McLaughlin,  commissioned  and  mustered  Dec.  23  '62; 
ist  sergt.  3  '62;  resigned  Mar.  9  '(st,.  Isaac  Bonnell  jr., 
commissioned  Mar.  10  '63;  formerly  ist  sergt.  Co.  D; 
prom,  ist  lieut.  Co.  D  May  7  '63.  George  W.  Price, 
commissioned  and  mustered  May  7  '63;  formerly  ist 
sergt.  Co.  D. 

First  Sergeant. — Thomas  Ripley,  appointed  Jan.  1  '63; 
sergt.  Sept.  3  '62. 

SergeantsX^-nxoWt^  Sept.  3  and  mustered  Sept.  19  '62). 
— Thomas  L.  King.  Abram  Skinner,  appointed  sergt. 
Apr.  24  '63.  Thomas  Canar,  sergt.  Jan.  i  '63;  previously 
corp.  Abram  Magee,  sergt.  Jan.  i  '63;  tr.  from  Co.  F. 
Theodore  Neighbour,  appointed  corp.  Dec.  i  '62;  sergt. 
Jan.  I  '63;    pro.  sergt.  major  Apr.  20  '63. 

Corporals  (enrolled  Sept.  3  and  mustered  Sept.  19  '62; 
appointed  corp.  at  the  date  following  their  names).— 
Daniel  Van  Fleet,  Apr.  24  '63.  Marcus  R.  Meeker. 
Joseph  Allen.  Sherwood  Culver,  May  7  '()t,.  William 
K.  Caskey.  David  W.  Welsh.  Henry  Salmon,  Jan.  i 
'63.     Arthur  Edner,  Apr.  16  '62. 

i?/!?^.— Corporal  Augustus  W.  Salmon,  of  direase,  at 
Fairfax  Seminary,  Va.,  Nov.  30  '62.  Corporal  Charles 
Stephens,  drowned  in  Cumberland  River,  Ky.,  May  6'  63. 

PRIVATES. 

Morris  Aider.  John  L.  Allen.  Daniel  P.  Apgar.  Edward 
S.  Apgar.  Jacob  Appleget.  James  Arnet.  David  and  Philip 
Beam.  Peter  Bird  jr.  Robert  H.  and  William  Blair.  Mi- 
chael Brisland,  mustered  in  Oct.  16  '62.  Henry  Case 
wagoner.  Frederick  S.  Clawson.  D.  Judson  Cook;  pro! 
hospital  steward  Jan.  i  '63.    Morris  Coss;  tr.  from  Com- 


ROLLS  OF  THE  TWENTY-SEVENTH  N.  J.  VOLUNTEERS. 


95 


pany  A.  Joseph  K.  Davis.  Lee  Davis;  appointed  sergt. 
Sept.  3  '62;  private  Jan.  i  '63.  Marcus  R.  De  Camp. 
John  M.  Dickerson.  Zachariah  D.  Drake.  Louis 
Fancher.  David  Fhike.  Nathan  C.  French.  Jacob 
Gess.  Benjamin  P.  Jackson.  John  W.  Jackson.  Joseph 
W.  Jones.  George  A.  Lawrence.  George  R.  Leport. 
Eliphalet  Lyon.  Robert  McPhersop.  Jesse  Miller. 
Henry  Niper.  Thomas  Patterson.  Patrick  Pepper. 
Stephen  Pierson.  Ezekiel  Rarick.  Thomas  Reed. 
Edwin  H.  and  Elisha  E.  Reger.  Samuel  M.  Rheinhart. 
Jetur  A.  Riggs,  corp.  Sept.  3  '62;  private  Oct.  16  '62. 
Samuel  Sharp.  Charles  and  John  Spencer.  Elias  H. 
Stephens.  Peter  Stump.  David  W.  Thomas.  George 
S.  Trimmer.  William  Weire.  Thomas  Wilson.  Alexander 
S.  and  John  C.  Woodruff.  Charles  Woolverton.  Jacob 
W.  Yauger. 

Discharged  for  Disalii/ity.^Anthony  Hayward,  at 
New  York,  Feb.  18  '63.  John  Hilts,  at  Washington, 
Mar.  10  '63.     Elijah  Niper,  at  New  York,  Jan.  9  '63... 

Died  (where  not  otherwise  stated,  drowned  in  the 
Cumberland  River,  as  related  on  page  93). — Joseph  R. 
Arch,  of  disease,  at  Washington,  Feb.  9  '63.  Frederick 
Cratsley,  of  disease,  at  Somerset,  Ky.,  May  31  '63.  Ed- 
ward Dolen.  Alonzo  J.  Jackson,  of  laryngitis,  at  Wash- 
ington, Mar.  17  '63.  John  B.  McPeak.  George  W. 
Sovereign,  of  typhoid  fever,  at  Washington,  Jan.  27  '63. 
Amos  G.  Stephens.  Benjamin  Stoney.  Andrew  J. 
Willetts.  Martin  V.  B.  Williamson,  of  disease,  at  Wash- 
ington, Mar.  7  '63.  Matthias  Williamson,  of  disease,  at 
Wheeling,  West  Va.,  June  19  '63.     Andrew  J.  Youngs. 

COMPANY    E. 

OFFICERS. 

Captains. — Augustus  D.  Blanchet,  commissioned  Sept. 
3  and  mustered  Sept.  19  '62;  pro.  major  Sept.  23  '62. 
Hudson  Kitchel,  commissioned  Oct.  i  and  mustered  Oct. 
16  '62;  2nd  lieut.  Sep.  3  '62;  resigned  Nov.  12  '62. 
George  W.  Crane,  commissioned  and  mustered  Nov.  11 
'62;   ist  lieut.  Sept.  4  '62. 

First  Lieutenants. — Edward  S.  Baldwin,  Nov.  11*62; 
pro.  capt.  Co.  K  Dec.  23  '62;  2nd  lieut.  Co.  K  Sept.  13 
'62.  James  Peters,  Dec.  23  '^2;  2nd  lieut.  Co.  F  Sept. 
II  '62. 

Second  Lieutenants.— Hzy'iA  B.  Muchmore,  commis- 
sioned Oct.  I  and  mustered  Oct.  16  '62;  dis.  March  i 
"63,  for  disability;  ist  sergt.  Sept.  3  '62.  Edward  W. 
Schofield,  Mar.  i  '6y,  sergt.  Sept.  3  '62;  ist  sergt.  Oct. 
16  '62. 

First  Sergeant.— K.  H.  Mulford,  Mar.  i  '6y,  sergt. 
Sept  3  '62. 

Sergeants. — Robert  A.  Halliday,  Oct.  16*62;  previously 
corp.  John  W.  Brown.  Philip  M.  Thompson.  James 
Vannia,  Mar.  i  '63;  previously  corp. 

Corporals. — Elias  H.  Carter.  William  H.  Hyland. 
Thomas  Woods;  appointed  Oct.  16  '62.  Matthias  Bur- 
nett. George  M.  Tuttle,  Michael  Cummings  and  Charles 
Noonan,  appointed  March  i  '63,  Albert  T.  Tappan,  dis. 
for  disability,  at  Portsmouth  Grove,  R.  I.,  March  19  '63. 
John  H.  Eldridge,  dis.  for  disability,  at  Philadelphia, 
Jan.  29  '63. 

PRIVATES. 

John  Ahrens;  mustered  in  Oct.  i6  '62.  Louis  Bassett. 
John  M.  Beach.  Daniel  Berry.  Samuel  J.  Betts. 
Charles  Brant.  Manning  C.  Broadwell.  Joseph  L. 
Bryan.  David  Burr.  Harman  Ciscoe.  Henry  S.  Clark. 
John  Daily.  Thomas  Doyle.  John  Eakley.  Hercules 
Edwards.  Lewis  Etsell.  Theodore  F.  Garrison.  Wil- 
liam Garrison.  Barnabas  C.  Goucher.  Lewis  F.  Greg- 
ory.    Ezra  P.  Gulick.     Bruno  Hagg.     Samuel  L.  Hop- 


kins. Moses  W.  Johnson.  Warren  S.  Kelly.  William 
Kincaid.  Jared  L.  Kitchel,  musician.  Thomas  Knowles. 
Lemuel  Lawrence;  died  of  typhoid  fever,  at  Newport 
News,  Va.,  March  19  '63.  William  Lockwood.  John  A 
Lyon.  Samuel  Magee.  Daniel  Maher.  John  McNeal. 
Michael  Mohair.  Benjamin  C.  Morris.  Jared  C.  Morris. 
Sylvester  W.  Morris.  James  Noonan.  John  O'Brien. 
William  H.  O'Neill.  Jacob  Ortell.  Samuel  Par- 
sons, wagoner.  Jacob  Phoenix;  corp.  Sept.  3  '62; 
private  Oct.  i  '62.  Ion  Rawlins.  William  H.  Rick- 
ley.  Philip  Ryan.  Ralph  G.  Schenck.  George  W. 
Shelly.  Patrick  Sheridan.  Robert  Smith.  Elijah 
T.  Squier.  Aranon  M.  Stanford.  Frederick  Stein- 
hauser.  Andrew  J.  Taylor.  John  M.  Taylor.  Henry 
D.  Todd.  Theodore  D.  Tompkins.  David  E. 
Totten.  Charles  H.  Tunis;  corp.  Sept.  3  '62;  private 
Oct.  I  '62.  Harvey  Tunis.  Alexander  Vandonia,  mu- 
sician. Edmond  Van  Orden.  Joseph  H.  Vreeland. 
James,  John  and  Patrick  Walsh.  Luther  T.  Ward.  John 
H.  Whitehead.     Lewis  C.  Wood.     Charles  Young. 

Discharged  for  Disability. — Nathaniel  Haycock,  at 
Washington,  Feb.  27  '63.  Ebenezer  F.  Lockwood,  at 
Portsmouth  Grove,  R.  L,  March  19  '63.  Peter  Rawson, 
at  Fairfax  Seminary,  Va.,  Dec.  i  '62.  Hugh  Wylie,  at 
Washington,  Jan.  26  '63. 

COMPANY    G. 

OFFICERS. 

Captain. — James  Plant,  commissioned  Sept.  i  '62. 

First  Lieutenant. — George  S.  Esten,  commissioned 
Sept.  I  '62. 

Second  Lieutenants. — George  Anthony,  commissioned 
Sept.  I  '62;  resigned  Dec.  22  '62.  Joseph  A.  Proctor; 
commissioned  and  mustered  Dec.  23  '62;  sergt.  Sept.  3  '62. 

First  Sergeants. — George  Forbes;  pro.  2nd  lieut.  Co. 
F  Dec.  23  '62.  Emmett  L.  Ellithorp;  sergt.  Sept.  3  '62; 
ist  sergt.  Dec.  23  '62;  2nd  lieut.  Co.  K  Jan.  15  '63. 
George  Carlough;  Jan.  15  '63;  sergt.  Sept.  3  *62. 

Sergeants  (all  but  the  last  appointed  corporals  Sept.  3 
'63). — George  W.  D.  Courter  and  Obadiah  S.  Parker, 
Dec.  23  '62.  Charles  Brezette,  Feb.  i  *63.  David 
Dawson. 

Corpo)-als. — Thomas  T.  Richards.  Gabriel  Parrott. 
Elijah  B.  Hamma.  James  H.  Doremus.  Cornelius  H. 
Van  Ness.  George  Gleason  and  Paul  H.  Mandeville, 
appointed  corp.  Dec.  23  '62.  Thomas  H.  Northwood; 
prom.  corp.  Feb.  i  '63' 

PRIVATES. 

Joseph  Bajoe.  S.  Y.  Baldwin.  Charles  E.  Blowers. 
Dennis  Brown.  Stephen  Carman.  David  E.  and  Ed- 
ward Conklin.  Asa,  George  S.  and  James  H.  Cook. 
Stephen  A'  Cooper.  John  W.  Crane,  musician.  George 
B.  Cummins.  John  K.  Darrah.  Hudson  Davenport, 
Eli  B.  Dawson,  musician.  Peter  Dempsey.  Jeremiah 
Doremus.  James  Dwyer.  Mark  Evarts  jr.  Erastus 
Fields.  John  Filleo,  John  W.  Fredericks.  Robert 
Galloway.  Peter  J.  and  William  Gould.  John  Grady. 
Henry  J.  Hill.  Joseph  and  Joshua  Hillas.  Daniel 
Hines.  James  Holly.  William  Husk.  A.  R.  and  Gar- 
rett Jacobus.  Cornelius  H.  and  William  H.  Kayhart. 
Napolean  Laflam,  wagoner.  John  Lepard.  Conrad 
Lines.  Charles  E.  Looker.  Lyman  Mandeville.  Edward 
McConnell.  George  McNeal.  George  and  John  Morgan, 
John,  John  H.  and  Joseph  H.  Myers.  Louis  Paradise. 
William  P.  Parrott.  Joseph  Peare.  Peter  Pero.  Abra- 
ham Pierson.  John  J.  Provost.  Samuel  Reeves.  George 
Richardson.  Michael  Schaaf.  Henry  Shinehouse.  John 
Stillwell.     John  and  Thompson  Taylor.     Eugene  Valley. 


u 


96 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


George  G.,  Henry  G.,  Martin  B.  and  Richard  H,  Van 
Duyne.  Henry  J.  Vanness.  John  H.  Van  Riper.  John 
Walley.  John  and  William  Whitten.  William  Worman. 
John  M.  Yatman. 

Discharged. — William  H.  Conklin,  May  28  '63,  for  dis- 
ability. William  H.  Davenport,  April  10  '63,  for  chronic 
rheumatism.  John  U.  Jacobus,  March  12  '63,  for  disa- 
bility. 

Died. — Abraham  Cooper,  of  consumption,  at  Washing- 
ton, Jan.  3  '63.  Richard  C.  Hyler,  of  consumption,  near 
Stanford,  Ky.,  April  25  '63.  Alfred  Miller,  of  inflamma- 
tion of  the  lungs,  at  Fairfax  Seminary,  Va.,  Nov.  8  '62. 
Louis  Robere,  of  consumption,  at  Fortress  Monroe,  Va., 
April  6  '63. 

COMPANY    I. 

OFFICERS. 

Captain. — Alfred  H.  Condict;  commissioned  Sept.  4 
'62. 

First  Lieutenants. — Peter  Churchfield;  commissioned 
Sept.  4  '62;  resigned  April  19  '63.  David  H.  Ayres; 
commissioned  and  mustered  April  20  '63;  2nd  lieut. 
Sept.  4  '62. 

Second  Lieutenant. — John  H.  Medcraft;  commissioned 
and  mustered  April  20  'dy,  sergt.  major  Sept.  19  '62. 

First  Sergeant. — J.  Warren  Kitchel. 

Sergeants. — Charles  T.  Borland.  David  R.  Emmons 
jr.  William  Van  Houten.  Stephen  Pierson;  mustered 
in  Oct.  16  '62;  Corp.  Sept.  3  '62;  sergt.  Nov.  i  '62;  2nd 
lieut.  Co.  D  March  4  '63. 

Corporals. — Jacob  W.  Searing.  Amzi  A.  Beach. 
Walter  Condict;  pro.  corp.  Nov.  15  '62.  James  L.  Willi- 
son.  Charles  A.  Sutton.  Theodore  L.  Cory.  George  L. 
McDowell. 

PRIVATES. 

Peter  Ammerman.  David  Baird.  Lewis  A.  and  Wil- 
liam A.  Bedell.  James  Booth.  Thomas  Bowman.  Jo- 
seph G.  Carpenter.  Peter  Carroll.  Martin  T.  Clawson. 
Charles  L.  Clement;  mustered  in  Oct.  16  '62.  John 
Cody.  Stephen  Cooper.  Henry  H.  Corwin.  Caleb  A. 
Cory.  A.  L.  De  Hart.  Henry  H.  Emmons.  Benjamin 
P.  Ford.  Chileon  Goble.  Lucius  P  Harmas,  musician. 
William  L.  Hathaway.  John  G.  Hempstead,  wagoner. 
William  Hodgson.  William  K.  Hoffman.  John  T.  Hor- 
ton.  George  P.  Howard.  William  F.  Jacobus;  mustered 
in  Oct.  16  '62.  Lewis  Johnson.  Edward  C.  Jolly. 
Abraham  M.  Langes.  Charles  G.  Loree.  Cyrus  Lyons. 
Patrick  Maloney.  Simon  Marcell;  mustered  in  Oct.  16 
'62.  Frank  H.  McGoldrich.  Newton  A.  Merritt.  Wil- 
liam Moneypenny.  Samuel  and  William  H.  Moore. 
William  Morland.  David  Paul.  William  H.  Percy. 
Eben  N.  and  George  H.  Pierson.  Amos  and  Edw'ard 
W.  Pruden.  Aaron  Ralph.  George  W.  Redding. 
Theodore  F.  Reeve;  mustered  in  Oct.  16  '62.  John 
Sanders.  Thomas  Scudder.  James  S.  Skellenger. 
Samuel  K.  Smack.  C.  F.  Smack;  musician.  Amos  and 
Philip  Smith.  James  S.  and  Seymour  Teets.  William 
Thomas.  John  H.  and  Stephen  Totten.  Joseph  Trow- 
bridge. William  J.  Turner.  Elijah  Van  Duyne.  H. 
L.  and  Samuel  E.  Whitenack.  Charles  Williams.  George 
N.  Willis.  Henry  Witkoff.  William  Wortman.  John 
D.  Wyckoff.     John  Zimmerman. 

Discharged  (for  disability).  —  Theodore  H.  Egbert, 
June  19  'd'i.  Gershom  W.  Gillum,  Mar.  17  '63.  John 
A.  Hopkins,  Feb.  6  'dT,.  Andrew  Morris,  June  ig  '63. 
John  T.  Reed,  Feb.  23  'dT,.  Theodore  L.  Van  Dorn, 
May  22  'dT,.     Peter  B.  Whitenack,  Nov.  30  '62. 

Died. — John  Cogan,  of  apoplexy,  March  23  'd-^,  at 
Baltimore.     Stephen  Doty,  of  small  pox,  at  Washington, 


Apr.  17  '63.  W.  H.  H.  Hames,  of  typhoid  fever,  at  Fortress 
Monroe,  Va.,  Mar.  7  'dj,.  Harvey  G.  Howell,  of  bron- 
chitis, at  Washington,  Feb.  16  '63.  William  Sargeant,  of 
congestion  of  the  brain,  at  Portsmouth  Grove,  R.  I., 
Feb.  28,  '63. 

COMPANY  L. 

OFFICERS. 

Captains. — Henry  F.  Willis;  commissioned  Sept.  2,  '62; 
mustered  Sept.  22  '62;  pro.  major  May  i  '63.  Jacob 
McConnell;  commissioned  and  mustered  May  i  '63; 
appointed  2nd  lieut.  Co.  K,  Nov.  11  '62;    ist  lieut.  Jan. 

IS  '63. 

First  Lieutenants. — Stephen  H.  Marsh;  commissioned 
Sept.  2  '62;  mustered  Sept.  22  '62;  pro.  capt.  Co.  F, 
Jan.  15,  '63.  Joseph  C.  Bower;  commissioned  and  mus- 
tered May  I  '63;  2nd  lieut.  Sept.  2  '62. 

Second  Lieutenant. — Henry  Lumsden  ;  enrolled  and 
mustered  May  i  'dy,    ist  sergt.  Sept.  3  '62. 

First  Sergeant. — Lemuel  C.  Smith,  May  i  '63;  sergt. 
Sept.  3  '62. 

Sergeants  (all  but  the  first  appointed  corporal  Sept.  3 
'62). — Barnabas  K.  Hall.  Thomas  A.  Zeak,  Jan.  20  'dy 
William  G.  Mitchell,  May  i  '63.  John  D.  Allison,  June 
8-63. 

Corporals. — David  H.  Gardner.  Jacob  H.  Blanchard, 
Mar.  I  '63.  George  R.  Todd.  David  Degraw,  Mar.  15 
'63.  Morris  H.  Shauger,  Apr.  8  '63.  William  H.  Daven- 
port, May  I  '63.  Miller  Smith  and  Wilmot  D.  Wear, 
June  8  '63. 

Discharged. — Jacob  Van  Winkle,  corp.,  for  disability. 
Mar.  10  'dT,. 

Died. — James  M.  Freeman,  sergt.,  of  typhoid  fever,  at 
Hickman's  Bridge,  Ky.,  June  8  '63.  William  Howell, 
Corp.,  of  typhoid  fever,  at  Baltimore,  Apr.  1 1  '63. 

PRIVATES. 

Manning  Blanchard.  Jonathan  Brannin.  James  Col- 
ligan.  Owen  Conley,  mustered  in  Oct.  16  '62.  James 
H.  Crane.  Edward  Davenport.  David  Davis.  James 
Gallagher.  Abram  L.  Gordon.  John  Hamilton.  Lewis 
Hamilton,  mustered  in  Oct.  16  '62.  C.  H.  Hopping, 
wagoner.  Frederick  F.  Hulmes.  Benjamin  F.  Knapp. 
Theodore  H.  Marsh.  Edwin  P.  Merritt,  musician. 
William  C.  Mills.  John  W.  Morgan.  Harrison  Morse. 
Phineas  B.  Myers.  John  Partington.  Calvin,  Hezekiah 
and  Peter  Peer.  Manning  R.  Roll.  John  Rowe.  Wil- 
liam H.  Savacool.  Amos  Sayre,  musician.  Thaddeus 
B.  Schofield.  William  Scribner.  William  W.  Shauger. 
Moses  E.  Smith,  mustered  in  Oct.  16  '62.  Thomas  D. 
Smith.  John  Spear.  Levi  R.  Stickle.  Jacob  Switzer! 
Andrew  J.  Tuers.  John  Vanderbilt  jr.  Anthony  Van 
Orden.     Lewis  Ward.     Charles  W.  Winget. 

Discharged  {lor  disability). — Abner  Bastedo,  Apr.  7  '63. 
Cyrus  Demouth,  Mar.  2  '63.  James  D.  Kitchel,  Dec.  i 
'62.  Nicholas  Lash,  June  19  '63.  Anthony  F.  Snover, 
Feb.  22  '63.  Caleb  Winget,  June  19  '63.  Gilbert  Zeak, 
Dec.   I  '61. 

Died. — Gideon  Bastedo  and  Joseph  Class,  drowned  in 
Cumberland  River,  Ky.,  May  6  '63.  James  H.  Collard, 
of  typhoid  fever,  at  Washington,  Jan.  8  '63.  Joseph 
Degraw,  of  dysentery,  near  Stanford,  Ky.,  May  2  '63. 
Lemuel  Degraw  and  Jesse  Demouth,  drowned  in  Cum- 
berland River,  Ky.,  May  6  'dy  Thomas  Demouth,  of 
typhoid  fever,  at  Washington,  Jan.  26  'dy  William 
Demouth,  of  chronic  diarrhoea,  near  Newport  News  Va. 
Mar.  I  '63.  John  Denike,  of  pneumonia,  at  Fortress 
Monroe,  Va.,  Mar.  31  '63.  James  H.  Fuller  and  Levi  O. 
Green,  drowned  in  Cumberland  River,  Ky.,  May  6  '6^. 
William  Haycock,  of  chronic  diarrhea,  near   Newport 


"  EMERGENCY  MEN  "—CO.  K  FIRST  N.  J.  VOLUNTEERS. 


97 


News,  Va.,  Mar  15  '63.  Henry  Kanouse,  of  pleurisy, 
near  Stanford,  Ky.,  Mar.  20  '63.  John  McCloskey. 
Barnabas  K.  Miller,  Edward  Nichols,  William  Ockobock, 
Thomas  Odell,  James  O'Neil,  Rolson  Peer,  Wilson  Pit- 
tenger,  Eliakim  Sanders,  George  Shauger,  James  Shaw, 
Samuel  H.  Smith,  and  William  H.  Weaver,  drowned  in 
Cumberland  River,  Ky.,  May  6  '63. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 


DRAFTINC 


EMERGENCY    MEN    — COMPANY    K    1ST    N.    J. 
— COMPANY   I    33D    N.    J. 


'UGUST  15th  1863  there  was  an  allotment 
made  of  the  draft;  3,026  white  and  loi 
colored  men  were  required  in  the  county. 
Some  changes  and  credits  were  afterward 
made,  and  the  number  finally  drawn  was 
611,  divided  as  follows:  Morris  44,  Pequan- 
nock  45,  Chatham  64,  Hanover  86,  Randolph  4, 
Mendham  21,  Chester  14,  Jefferson  45,  Roxbury  91, 
Washington  74,  Rockaway  123. 

In  February  1865  there  were  333  men  to  be  drafted 
for,  but  before  the  draft  was  completed  the  victory 
before  Petersburg  caused  the  order  of  April  13th  that 
drafting  should  cease. 

March  26th  1864  Captain  D.  H.  Ayers,  who  had 
served  in  the  27th  and  had  been  recruiting  for  the  33d, 
had  filled  a  company  for  the  5th  N.  J.  to  the  minimum 
number.  He  was  mustered  as  captain  in  that  regiment, 
April  13  th  1864. 

May  2nd  1864  a  new  company  of  "home  guards"  was 
organized  at  Morristown— Captain  Fred.  Dellicker,  First 
Lieutenant  Horace  Ayers,  Second  Lieutenant  D.  D. 
Craig. 

June  15th  1863,  the  rebel  army  having  invaded  Mary- 
land, and  then  threatening  Harrisburgh,  Governor  Cur- 
tin  of  Pennsylvania  called  upon  the  governors  of  the 
the  neighboring  States  for  aid.  June  17th  Governor 
Parker  called  for  volunteers  from  this  State,  and  ten 
companies  of  30-day  men  volunteered  for  the  "  Pennsyl- 
vania emergency.''  A  company  was  raised  in  Morris 
county,  known  as  Company  E  N.  J.  militia.  Captain 
George  Gage,  which  was  enrolled  and  mustered  June 
27th  and  discharged  July  24th.  It  went  to  Harrisburgh 
and  remained  there  until  the  victory  of  Gettysburg  ren- 
dered its  stay  no  longer  necessary. 

The  following  is  a  roll  of  the  company: 

George  Gage,  captain;  William  A.  Halstead,  first  lieu- 
tenant; J.  E.  Parker,  second  lieutenant;  James  L.  Marsh, 
first  sergeant;  D.  W.  Tunis,  John  T.  Kent,  John  C. 
Smith  and  John  W.  Phoenix,  sergeants;  James  M.  Bon- 
sall,  Charles  F.  Axtell,  George  McKee,  Joseph  H.  Tillyer, 
George  Vanhouten,  L.  D.  Babbitt,  James  Allen  and 
Lyman  B.  Dellicker,  corporals ;  Elwyn  Bentley  and 
Charles  H.  Green,  musicians;  Erastus  D.  Allen,  George 
W.  Anthony,  George  F.  Ballentine,  Jabez  Beers,  Andrew 


Bennett,  D.  W.  Bowdisb,  Edward  P.  Brewster,  George 
Brewster,  Charles  Burns,  E.  F.  Cavanagh,  Francis  Childs, 
William  Cook,  S.  B.  Cooper,  Marcus  F.  Crane,  John  S. 
and  John  N.  De  Hart,  Aaron  S.  Degroot,  Galin  Egbert, 
William  C.  Emmett,  Barnard  Finegan,  Arthur  Ford, 
Edwin  D.  and  Robert  Green,  Charles  M.  HoUoway, 
George  H.  Hutchinson,  David  Lewis,  John  Ross,  James 
D.  Stevenson,  George  E.  Voorhees,  George  H.  Welch- 
man,  Robert  Wighton,  C.  H.  Wilson,  Job  Wright,  James 
C.  Youngblood. 

While  Captain  Gage's  company  of  militia  was  absent 
in  Pennsylvania  a  "  peace  meeting  "  was  held  on  Morris 
green,  which  was  addressed  by  Chauncey  Burr  and  others. 
During  the  speaking  news  of  the  victories  of  Vicksburg 
and  Gettysburg  arrived,  and  the  meeting  dispersed  in 
confusion.  A  large  loyal  meeting  was  held  in  the  same 
place  the  same  evening  to  celebrate  the  victories  of  the 
eastern  and  western  armies. 

COMPANY    K    ist    N.  J. 

The  same  month  two  companies  were  recruited  for  the 
ist  N.  J.,  then  in  the  field — Company  G  (Captain  Ed- 
ward Bishop,  First  Lieutenant  Daniel  Dillen,  Second 
Lieutenant  Daniel  L.  Hutt)  and  Company  H  (Captain 
Richard  Foster,  First  Lieutenant  George  Carlough,  Sec- 
ond Lieutenant  William  Miller).  As  separate  companies 
these  men  did  not  enter  the  service,  but  from  them  a  new 
company  was  formed,  under  Captain  Foster,  which 
joined  the  ist  N.  J.  as  Company  K  in  January  1864,  in 
time  to  serve  honorably  and  suffer  severely  in  the  "  bat- 
tle summer,"  and  to  be  in  at  the  death.  The  company 
organization  was  disbanded  at  Cold  Harbor,  June  4th 
1864,  and  the  men  were  transferred  to  Companies  K  and 
F  4th  N.  J.  The  following  is  the  muster  roll  of  the 
company: 

OFnCERS. 

Captain. — Richard  Foster;  wounded  at  Spottsylvania, 
Va.,  May  12  '64;  died  in  hospital  at  Washington,  June 

^5  '64- 

First  Lieutenant. — William  Muir;  honorably  m.  o.  Aug. 
9  '64. 

Second  Lieutenant. — William  Milnor;  wounded  at  Cold 
Harbor,  June  2  '64;   dis.  for  disability. 

Sergeants. — Jacob  L.  Hutt  (ist);  tr.  and  reduced  to  the 
ranks  in  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.,  June  4  '64;  pro.  ist  lieut.  Co. 
C  4th  N.  J.,  and  assigned  command  of  the  ist  bat.;  pro. 
Capt.  Co.  A  ist  bat.;  m.  o.  June  29  '65.  William  O. 
Smith;  tr.  and  reduced  to  the  ranks  in  Company  K  4th 
N.  J.,  June  4  '64.  Samuel  M.  Mattox;  in  general  hos- 
pital from  Mar.  25  '64;  tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.  and  re- 
duced to  the  ranks.  Samuel  J.  Nixon;  missing  at  Spott- 
sylvania, Va.,  May  12  '64.  Robert  Galloway;  tr.  and  re- 
duced to  the  ranks  in  Co.  K  4th  N.  J. 

Corporals. — Richard  H.  Van  Duyne  (ist);  wounded  at 
Spottsylvania  May  12  '64;  died  in  hospital.  William 
Jones;  wounded  at  the  Wilderness  May  6  '64.  John 
Whitten;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  May  12  '64.  John  B. 
Magee;  wounded  in  the  Wilderness  May  5  '64.  James 
McGory;  killed  in  Wilderness  May  6  '64.  Anton  Hubler; 
dis.  for  disability  Mar.  18.  John  A.  Peer;  wounded  in 
the  Wilderness  May  5  '64.  Edward  McConnel;  tr.  to 
Co.  K  4th  N.  J. 

PRIVATES. 

John  Agen;  tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.     James  H.  R.  Ap- 


98 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


gar;  missing  at  the  Wilderness,  May  6  '64.  Ebenezer 
Apgar;  wounded  at  Cold  Harbor,  June  i  '64.  George 
Adair  and  Joseph  Anson;  tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.  Jeter 
R.  Auey;  missing  at  the  Wilderness,  May  6  '64.  Thomas 
Beddon,  com.  clerk,  and  Dennis  Brown,  missing;  wounded 
at  Spottsylvania,  May  9  '64.  John  Bowers;  wounded  at 
Spottsylvania,  May  10  '64.  Robert  Beam;  wounded  at 
Cold  Harbor,  June  2  '64.  John  H.  Beaman;  wounded 
at  Spottsylvania,  May  12  '64.  Jacob  Z.  Berry;  rejected 
by  examining  board  at  Woolford  Ford,  Va.  Edward 
Carty;  wounded  at  the  Wilderness,  May  5  '64.  Patrick 
Carey;  killed  at  the  Wilderness,  May  6 '64.  James  Casey; 
detailed  in  ambulance  corps.  Abraham  C.  Conover; 
wounded  at  Spottsylvania,  May  10  '64.  John  E.  and 
Thomas  H.  Cook;  wounded  at  the  Wilderness,  May  6 
'64;  latter  died.  James  H.  Crane;  killed  at  the  Wilder- 
ness, May  5  '64.  John  W.  Crane,  drummer;  absent, 
sick,  from  May  4  '64.  George  Crawford;  killed  at  the 
Wilderness,  May  5  '64.  Peter  Cassidy,  Michael  Cum- 
mings,  Horace  Dodd  and  William  Drenner,  tr.  to  Co.  K 
4th  N.  J.  Thomas  G.  Davis;  killed  at  the  Wilderness, 
May  5  '64.  Samuel  N.  Ellsworth  and  Samuel  T.  Ellicks; 
tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.  Henry  Fitzinger;  wounded  at 
the  Wilderness,  May  6  '64.  Michael  Fitzimmonds  and 
John  W.  Ford;  tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.  William  W. 
Gearey;  wounded  at  the  Wilderness,  May  6  '64.  Mil- 
berry  Grandon  and  George  Hilbert;  deserted  at  Camp 
Perrin,  Trenton,  N.  J.,  Feb.  i  '64.  Jacob  H.  Hamma; 
tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.  Thomas  Headland;  wounded  at 
Cold  Harbor,  June  i  '64.  Ezra  H.  Hile;  wounded  at 
Spottsylvania,  May  12  '64.  Charles  A.  Hughson;  wounded 
at  Spottsylvania,  May  12  '64;  died  in  general  hospital. 
Leonard  N.  Howell;  wounded  at  Spottsylvania,  May  12 
'64.  James  W.  Howell;  missing  at  the  Wilderness,  May 
6  '64.  Patrick  Healey;  wounded  at  the  Wilderness, 
May  6  '64.  Emmanuel  Holman  and  Peter  Jackson;  tr. 
to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.  John  Kelley;  missing  at  Spottsyl- 
vania, May  12  '64.  Daniel  Knott;  wounded  at  Cold 
Harbor,  June  2  '64.  Jacob  S.  Kunckle;  tr.  to  Co.  K 
4th  N.  J.  Jonathan  P.  Loree;  wounded  at  Spott- 
sylvania, May  12  '64;  died  of  wounds  May  30  '64. 
Charles  Munn;  tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.  James  Milner; 
missing  at  the  Wilderness,  May  6  '64.  Henry  Maynard; 
wounded  at  the  Wilderness,  May  6  '64.  Daniel  Mc- 
Henry;  tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.  James  McLucky; 
wounded  at  Cold  Harbor,  June  4  '64.  Thomas  Murphy; 
wounded  at  the  Wilderness,  May  6  '64.  John  Miller; 
missing  at  Spottsylvania,  May  9  '64;  died  in  Anderson- 
ville  prison.  George  Nix;  wounded  at  the  Wilderness, 
May  5  '64;  died  in  general  hospital.  Peter  O'Conner 
and  Jaremiah  Oliver;  tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.  Clifton 
Peer;  absent,  sick,  from  March  26  '64.  Thomas  Ryan; 
wounded  at  the  Wilderness,  May  5  '64.  Peter  Rawson; 
absent,  sick,  from  March  25  '64.  Bernard  Riley;  wound- 
ed at  the  Wilderness,  May  6  '64.  Anthony  Robertson; 
tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.  Mortimer  Roberts;  wounded  and 
taken  prisoner  at  the  Wilderness,  May  6  '64;  died  in 
prison.  Martin  Siver;  wounded  at  the  Wilderness,  May 
6  '64.  Hiram  Siver;  wounded  at  Cold  Harbor,  June  2 
'64.  Patrick  Sheridan;  wounded  at  Spottsylvania,  May 
12  '64.  Michael  Slam;  tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.;  killed 
at  Winchester,  Aug.  17  '64.  Garret  C.  Smith;  detailed 
in  pioneer  corps.  Robert  Smith;  wounded  at  Spottsyl- 
vania, May  12  '64.  John  L.  Stagg;  tr.  to  Co.  K  4th 
N.  J.  Garret  Speer;  absent,  sick,  in  general  hospital. 
Fordham  0.  Schuyler;  tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.  Charles 
Schuyler;  missing  at  the  Wilderness,  May  5  '64.  John 
Smith  ;  deserted  at  Woodford's  Ford,  Va.,  Feb.  19. 
Nelson  Teets;  wounded  at  the  Wilderness,  May  6  '64. 
John  Tice;  absent,  sick,  from  March  i.  Patrick  Toole 
and  John  H.  Tucker;  tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.     Peter  Tur- 


ner and  Ward  Vanderhoof;  absent,  sick,  from  May  4. 
William  S.  Van  Fleet;  wounded  at  Spottsylvania,  May 
12  '64;  died  of  wounds  in  general  hospital.  Cornelius  R. 
Van  Voorhees;  tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.  Richard  Vincent; 
missing  at  the  Wilderness,  May  6  '64.  John  Van  Ordeh; 
absent,  sick,  from  May  4.  Manning  Wear  and  Henry 
Whitten;  tr.  to  Co.  K  4th  N.  J.  William  A.  Wright; 
absent,  sick,  from  May  5. 

RECAPITULATION. 

Killed  in  action,  7;  died  from  wounds,  12;  wounded 
and  survived,  30;  missing  in  action,  8;  absent,  sick, 
10;  discharged  for  disability,  i;  deserted,  3;   total,  71. 

Commissioned  officers,  3;  enlisted  men,  99;  total,  102; 
deduct  71;  total  for  duty,  31. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  battles  in  which  this  company 
was  engaged.  All  were  fought  in  Virginia,  and  all  before 
Hatcher's  Run  in  1864: 

Wilderness,  May  5-7;  Spottsylvania,  May  8-10;  Spott- 
sylvania Court-house,  May  12-16;  North  and  South  Anna 
River,  May  24;  Hanover  Court-house,  May  29;  Tolo- 
potomy  Creek,  May  30;  Cold  Harbor,  June  i-io:  Before 
Petersburg  ("  Weldon  Railroad"),  June  23;  Snicker's 
Gap,  July  18;  Strasburg,  Aug.  15;  Winchester,  Aug.  17; 
Charlestown,  Aug.  21;  Opequan  Creek,  Sept.  19;  Fisher's 
Hill,  Sept.  21,  22;  New  Market,  Sept.  24;  Mount  Jack- 
son, Sept.  25;  Cedar  Creek  and  Middletown,  Oct.  19; 
Hatcher's  Run,  Feb.  5;  Fort  Steedman,  Mar.  25;  Cap- 
ture of  Petersburg,  Apr.  2;  Sailor's  Creek,  Apr.  6;  Farm- 
villc,  Apr.  7;  Lee's  surrender,  Appomattox,  Apr.  9. 

COMPANY   I   OF    THE    33d    N.  J. 

volunteer  infantry  was  chiefly  composed  of  Morris 
county  men.  The  colonel  was  George  W.  Mindel.  Wil- 
liam H.  Lambert  was  adjutant  for  about  six  months  from 
July  13th  1863,  and  was  succeeded  by  Stephen  Pierson. 
The  regiment  was  mustered  in  at  Newark,  by  com- 
panies, in  August  and  September  1863,  for  three  years  or 
the  war,  and  left  the  State  September  8th  for  Washington. 
It  soon  marched  into  Virginia,  and  encamped  at  Warren- 
ton.  Here  it  was  assigned  to  the  nth  corps,  and  re- 
mained until  September  25th,  when  the  corps  started  for 
the  west,  to  become  a  part  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumber- 
land. It  1864  it  went  "  marching  through  Georgia"  with 
Sherman.  The  engagements  in  which  it  took  part  were 
as  follows: 

Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  November  23d  1863;  Mission 
Ridge,  Tenn.,  November  24th  and  25th  1863;  Mill  Creek 
Gap,  Ga.,  May  8th  1864;  Resaca,  Ga.,  May  15th  and  16th 
1864;  New  Hope  Church,  Ga.,  May  2Sth  to  June  ist  1864; 
Pine  Knob,  Ga.,  June  15th  and  i6th  1864;  Muddy 
Creek,  Ga.,  June  17th  and  i8th  1864;  Gulp's  Farm,  Ga., 
June  22nd  1864;  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Ga.,  June  27th 
1864;  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Ga.,  July  20th  1864;  Siege  of 
Atlanta,  Ga.,  July  22nd  to  September  2nd  1864;  Siege 
of  Savannah,  Ga.,  December  iith-2ist  1864;  Averys- 
boro,  N.  C,  March  i6th  1865;  Bentonville,  S.  C,  March 
i8th-2oth  1865. 

The  following  is  a  roll  of  Company  I: 

OFFICERS. 

Where  not  otherwise  mentioned  in  the  following  para- 
graphs the  officers  of  Company  I  were  enrolled  or  com- 


COMPANY  I  THIRTY-THIRD  N.  J.  VOLUNTEERS. 


99 


missioned  at  the  dates  immediately  following  their  names; 
mustered  in  August  29th  1863,  for  three  years'  service, 
and  mustered  out  July  7th  1865. 

Captain. — Samuel  F.  Waldron,  Aug.  29  '63;  killed  at 
Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  Nov.  23  '63.  Nathaniel  K.  Bray; 
commissioned  Dec.  20  '63;  mustered  Jan.  i  '64;  pro. 
major  April'4  '65.  Joseph  P.  Couse,  commissioned  April 
4  '65;  mustered  April  29  '65;  appointed  ist  lieut.  Co.  A 
Sept  25  '64. 

First  Lieutenant. — J.  Warren  Kitchel;  commissioned 
Aug.  22  '63. 

Second  Lieutenants. — Francis  Child;  wounded  July  20 
'64;  pro.  ist  lieut.  Co.  B  Sept.  25  '64.  Orlando  K. 
Guerin;  commissioned  Nov.  i  '64;  mustered  Jan.  26  '65; 
appointed  Q.  M.  sergt.  Sept.  5  '63;  transferred  to  Com- 
pany C;  died  in  1881.  William  L.  Geary;  commissioned 
May   16  '65;  not  mustered;  brevetted  capt.  U.  S.  Mar. 

13  '65- 

First  Sergeants. — John  C.  Smith,  Aug.  13  '63;  pro. 
ist  lieut.  Co.  AJune6  '64.  Theodore  Manee,  Jan.  i'65; 
sergt.  Aug.  24  '63. 

Sergeants. — James  Connor,  July  i  '64;  corp.  Aug.  20 
'6-3.  Thomas  Shephard,  Apr.  i  '65;  previously  corp.; 
dis.  May  3  '65.  George  Hager,  Apr.  i  '65;  corp.  Aug. 
18  '63.  Peter  Dienen,  May  i  '65;  corp.  Aug.  24  '63. 
Levi  Smith,  enrolled  Feb.i6  '64;  corp.;  sergt.  Jan.  i  '65; 
dis.  May  3  '65. 

Corporals. — Edward  Blake,  Aug.  22  '63.  Martin  Dol- 
phin, Aug.  25  '63.  John  Phillips;  enrolled  Aug,  27  '63; 
corp.  Apr.  i  '65.  Michael  Stager;  enrolled  Aug.  28  '6y, 
corp.  May  i  '65.  Frederick  W.  Studdiford;  enrolled 
May  4  '64;  corp.  May  i  '65;  tr.  from  Co.  K.  John  M. 
Bennett;  enrolled  Aug.  22  '63;  corp.  May  i  '65.  James 
A.  Burr,  Sept.  6  '64,  for  i  year;  corp.  Jan.  i  '65;  dis. 
Apr.  28  '65. 

Discharged. — William  R.  Frazer,  sergt.;  enrolled  Aug. 
27  '63;  dis.  Mar.  31  '65,  for  disbility. 

Transferred. — Theodore  F.  Rogers,  sergt.;  enrolled 
Aug.  10  '63;  tr.  to  V.  r.  c.  Mar.  15  '65;  dis.  July  18  '65. 
Charles  Fengar;  enrolled  Aug.  23  '63;  tr.  to  v.  r.  c. 

Died. — David  Russell,  sergt.;  enrolled  Aug.  4  '63; 
died  of  disease  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  Dec.  8  '64.  John 
McArdle,  corp.;  enrolled  Aug.  18  'by,  killed  at  Pine 
Knob,  Ga.,  June  16  '64. 

PRIVATES. 

The  first  date  following  these  names  is  the  date  of  en- 
rollment; the  second,  if  any,  that  of  muster-in;  in  most 
cases  they  were  the  same.  The  figure  following  the  date 
indicates  the  number  of  years  for  which  the  man  enlisted. 
The  men  were  mustered  out  in  June  or  July  1865. 

William  R.  Adams,  musician,  Aug.  10  '63,  3.  James 
Allen,  Aug.  12  '62,,  3;  Aug.  23  '63;  prom.  com.  sergt. 
Sept.  5  '6t,.  John  Anys,  Jan.  9  '64,  3;  Jan.  11  '64;  dis. 
May  3  '65.  George  F.  Ballentine,  Aug.  10  '67,,  3;  Aug. 
29  '63.  William  Bannon,  Aug.  4  '6t„  Aug.  29  '63;  dis. 
May  12  '65.  Lawrence  Bergen,  corp.,  Aug.  26  '63,  3; 
private  June  25  '65.  Daniel  Berry,  Sept.  6  '64,  i;  dis. 
Apr.  28  '65.  Charles  Bird,  Oct.  27  '64,  i.  George 
Bowen,  Apr.  13  '65,  i;  dr.;  dis.  May  3 '65.  Lionel 
Brooks,  May  4  '64,  3.  Milton  Brooks,  Feb.  8  '64,  3. 
Jefferson  Brutzman,  Oct.  11  '64,  i;  tr.  from  Co.  B. 
J.  A.  Burr.  C.  H.  Chapman,  Sept.  7  '64,  i;  dis.  Apr.  28  '65. 
Samuel  D.  Coombs,  Aug.  21  '63,  Aug.  29  '63,  3;  dis.  May 
3  '65.  Samuel  P.  Davis;  Apr.  11  '65,  i.  Peter  Degraw; 
Dec.  29  '63,  3;  tr.  from  Co.  E.  Christopher  Devine, 
corp.;  Aug.  25  '63;  private  June  28  '65.  Thomas  Dough- 
erty; Aug.  29  '63.  Evan  B.  Edmunds;  Apr.  12  '65,  i; 
dis.  May  3  '65.     Horace  B.  Fletcher;  Sept.  13  '64,  i;  dis. 


Apr.  28  '65.  Mark  Fobs,  Aug.  28  '6y  3;  musician. 
Barnabas  C.  Goucher;  Nov.  24  '6y,  Dec.  5  '6t„  3;  dis; 
May  4  '65.  John  W.  Green,  Aug.  25  '63,  Aug.  29  '62,,  3; 
dis.  May  3  '65.  Michael  Haggerty;  Aug.  22  '62,,  3; 
dis.  May  3  '65.  Thomas  Hayden;  Aug.  29  '63,  3. 
dis.  May  3  '65.  Hugh  Hefferman;  Feb.  21  '65,  i; 
transferred  from  Co.  B.  FredericK  Holland;  Aug. 
25  '63,  Aug.  29  '63,  3.  James  Johnson,  Sept. 
23  '64,  i;  dis.  April  28  '65.  Henry  F.  Jones;  Aug.  26 
'63,  3;  dis.  May  3  '65.  William  Kaine;  Jan.  17  '65,  i. 
Nathaniel  Kiser;  Sept.  7  '64,  i;  dis.  April  28  '65.  Jo- 
seph Lang;  Oct.  15  '64,  i;  dis.  May  3  '65.  John  Lein- 
inger;  Oct.  18 '64,  i;  dis.  May  3  '65.  Abraham  Lynn; 
Aug.  1 8   '63,  Aug.  29  '6y  3.     Adolphe  Machowof;  April 

14  '65,  3;  dis.  May  3  '65;  tr.  from  Co.  K.  Anthony 
Mares;  June  15  '64,3;  dis.  May  3 '65.  Andrew  McCain; 
Aug.  20  '63,  Aug.  29  '62,  3;  dis.  May  12  '65.  John  Mc- 
Donald; Aug.  18  '63,  3.  Bernard  McManus;  Aug.  24 
'63,  3;  dis.  May  3  '65.  William  McNeil;  Aug.  24  '63,  3; 
dis.  May  3  '65.  John  L.  Megill,  musician;  Aug.  15  '63. 
Ernst  H.  Meyers;  Oct.  15  '64,  i.  Charles  Miller;  April 
13  '65,  i;  dis.  May  3  '65.  William  Miller;  April  7  '65, 
I.  Nicholas  Moore;  Aug.  8  '6^,  Aug.  29  '6^,  3.  Josiah 
Mullen;  March  29 '65,  i;  dis.  May  3 '65.  James  Murchie; 
Oct.  15  '64,  I.  James  Murtough;  Oct.  19  '64,  i;  dis. 
May  3  '65.  Gottlieb  Prob;  Aug.  28  '63,  3;  m.  o.  July 
27  '65.  John  G.  Propst;  Aug.  27  '63,  3;  dis.  May  3  '65. 
Philip  Y.  Redding;  Aug.  18  '63;  wounded  at  Peach 
Tree  Creek,  Georgia,  July  20,  '64.  Jacob  Riker;  Sept.  23 
'64,   i;  tr.   from   Co.   E  35 th  N.  J.     William  Ryan;  Oct. 

15  '64,  I.  Moody  A.  Sandburn;  Sept.  21  '64,  i;  dis. 
April  28  '65.  Valentine  Sealand;  Sept.  22  '64,  i;  dis. 
April  28;  tr.  from  Co.  D.  Herman  Seibert;  April  6  '65, 
I.  William  Shiell;  Oct.  15 '64,  i.  Edward  Smith;  Aug. 
19  '63,  Aug.  29  '62,,  3;  tr.  to  v.  r.  c,  May  3  '64;  returned 
to  Co.  March  2  '6.s.  Richard  D.  Soden;  corp.  Aug.  25 
'63,  Aug.  29  '63,  3;  private  May  i  '65;  dis.  May  3  '65. 
Lewis  Stage;  Jan.  30  '65,  i;  dis.  May  3  '65;  tr.  from  Co. 
C.  William  R.  Stelling;  Oct.  11  '64,  i;  dis.  May  3  '65. 
Michael  Taggart;  April  12  '65,  i;  dis.  May  3  '65.  John 
Weiderberger;  Oct.  19  '64,  i.  Joseph  Weil;  Aug.  12  '63, 
3.  Peter  Wendel;  Oct.  21  '64,  1.  Wilbur  Wetsel;  Aug. 
10  '63,  Aug.  29  '63,  3;  dis.  May  12  '65.  James  Wood; 
Jan.  6  '65,  i;  dis.  May  3  '65;  tr.  from  Co.  A. 

Discharged  (for  disability). — William  Fagan;  enrolled 
Aug.  17  '63;  dis.  June  14  '64.  William  Herbert;  en- 
rolled Aug.  II  '63;  dis.  Aug.  3  '64.  William  H.  Kelly; 
enrolled  Aug.  10  '63;  dis.  April  2  '65. 

Transferred. — (The  date  of  enlistment  and  muster  and 
the  number  of  years  for  which  the  man  enlisted  follow 
the  name.  The  transfer  was  to  Company  C  where  not 
otherwise  stated.)  Joseph  Aspinwall;  Sept.  7  '64,  i. 
Abraham  Benjamin;  Dec.  29  '63,  3;  from  Co.  E  and  to 
V.  r.  c.  Abner  B.  and  Charles  Bishop,  i.  Richard  C. 
Burris,.  I.  Ambi  and  Lewis  Conklin.  Michael  Conlon; 
Mar.  31  '65,  i;  to  Co.  A.  Horace  Davis;  Sept.  7  '64,  r. 
Erastus  Degraw;  Sept.  23  '64,  i;  to  Co.  H.  William 
Drew;  Sept.  7  '64,  i.  George  Ely;  Feb.  28  '65,  3;  to 
Bat.  E.  John  Fuller;  April  4  '65,  i.  Michael  Galey; 
Sept.  14  '64,  i;  to  Co.  A.  Robert  J.  Harrison;  Aug.  24 
'64,  3;  to  V.  r.  c,  April  i  '65;  dis.  July  20  '65.  William 
Healey;  Sept.  28  '64,  i;  to  Co.  K.  John  Heusefall; 
Sept.  7  '64,  i;  to  Co.  K.  John  Kennedy;  Oct.  11  '64,  i; 
to  Co.  K.  William  Margeson;  Sept.  7  '64,  i.  William 
Masker;  Aug.  20  '63,  3;  to  v.  r.  c.  Mar.  20  '65.  Ernst 
Mayer;  Sept.  9  '64,  i;  to  Co.  F  35th  N.  J.  Charles  E. 
Mayo;  April  4  '65,  i.  Nathan  Parliament;  Sept.  7  '64,  i. 
Charles  Ryerson;  Aug.  26  '63,  3;  wounded  June  23  '64, 
at  Kenesaw  Mountain;  tr.  to  v.  r.  c,  Jan.  16  '65;  dis! 
July  25  '65.  Charles  H.  Wood;  Mar.  7  '65,  i;  to  Co.  d! 
Died. — (Enrolled  and  mustered  in  August  1863  when 


100 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


not  otherwise  stated,  and  for  three  years.)  Charles 
Anys;  Jan.  9  '64;  died  at  Andersonville,  Ga.,  Feb.  13 
'65,  of  wounds  received  at  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Ga.,  July 
20  '64.  John  Braan;  Jan.  7  '64;  died  of  disease,  at 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  Sept.  18  '64.  Martin  Braan;  Jan.  7 
'64;  killed  at  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Ga.,  July  20  '64.  James 
Butler;  of  disease,  at  Hilton  Head,  S.  C.,  Mar.  29  '65. 
Frederick  Ehrnest;  Dec.  29  '63;  killed  at  Peach  Tree 
Creek,  Ga„  July  20 '64.  Thomas  Farrell;  at  Chattanooga, 
Tenn.,  July  12  '64,  of  wounds  received  at  Pine  Knob, 
Ga.,  June  t6  '64.  Andrew  Folt;  of  typhoid  fever,  Jan. 
9  '64.  Joel  Jones;  of  chronic  diarrhea,  at  Bridgeport, 
Ala.,  Nov.  5  '63.  Martin  Krom;  of  disease,  at  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.,  Mar.  12  '64;  Edmund  Leaver;  of  typhoid 
fever,  at  Lookout  Valley,  Ga.,  Jan.  23,  '64.  John  Per- 
sonett;  of  disease,  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  June  17  '64. 
August  Shawagar;  of  wound,  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  Sept.  17 
'63.  Abraham  Vanderhoof;  killed  at  Pine  Knob,  Ga., 
June  16  '64.  Thomas  Williams;  enrolled  Nev.  27  '63; 
killed  at  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Ga.,  July  20  '64.  Arazi 
Willis;  Jan.  5  '64;  died  of  dropsy,  at  Andersonville,  Ga., 
Sept.  I  '64.  Louis  Witte;  drowned  in  Tennessee  River, 
Nov.  '6^. 


CHAPTER   XX. 


THE    39TH    NEW  JERSEY  VOLUNTEERS ROLL  OF  COMPANY 

K LIST    OF    PATRIOT    DEAD. 


1  HIS  regiment  was  raised  in  the  month  of  Sep- 
tember 1864,  the  rendezvous  being  Camp 
Frelinghuysen,  Newark,  and  was  principally 
recruited  in  Essex  county.  Company  K  was 
raised  in  Morris  county,  recruited  and  commanded 
by  Captain  D.  S.  Allen.  Although  he  was  the 
last  to  obtain  a  recruiting  commission,  and  labored 
under  the  disadvantages  of  distance  from  rendezvous,  his 
was  the  first  company  of  the  command  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service,  having  recruited  its  full  quota  in 
about  fifteen  days.  Company  K  with  four  other  com- 
panies, under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  James 
Close,  went  to  the  "  front  "  in  October,  encamping  at 
City  Point,  Va.,  and  in  about  two  weeks  these  were 
joined  by  the  remaining  five  companies  of  the  regiment. 
They  remained  here  working  on  entrenchments  for  about 
two  weeks.  A.  C.  Wildrick  of  the  United  States  army 
came  and  took  command  as  colonel,  and  William  T. 
Cornish,  formerly  of  the  15th  N.  J.  volunteers,  as  major 
of  the  regiment. 

The  force  changed  camp  about  November  ist  and 
went  to  Poplar  Grove  Spring,  near  Petersburg,  where 
the  39th  was  assigned  to  the  9th  army  corps.  There 
being  at  this  time  continuous  picket  firing  and  skirmish- 
ing the  men  got  their  first  smell  of  gunpowder  very  soon, 
and  listened  to  the  roaring  of  artillery  and  musketry 
alternating  with  frequent  calls  of  the  long  roll.  Company 
K  was  in  a  few  days  called  to  support  an  engagement  a 
short  distance  to  the  left;  it  was  not  called  into  action, 
but  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  effects  of  an 


engagement,  as  many  of  the  wounded  were  carried  past 
the  ranks. 

About  the  first  of  December  the  company  moved  into 
and  took  charge  of  Fort  Davis,  in  front  of  Petersburg, 
the  rebels  shelling  it  "pretty  lively."  Here  the  men  did 
picket  duty  in  the  entrenchments  and  drilled  in  the  rear 
of  the  fort.  They  remained  in  this  fort,  with  very  little 
occurring  except  the  regular  incidents  of  camp  life,  and 
occasionally  a  man  wounded  on  the  picket  line,  until  the 
2nd  day  of  April  1865,  when  the  final  long  roll  was 
beaten,  and  the  regiment  marched  out  of  the  fort  about 
1 1  o'clock  at  night  to  take  its  position  for  the  attack  on 
Petersburg  the  following  morning.  A  detail  of  ten  men 
from  each  company,  making  100  men,  under  Captain  D. 
S.  Allen,  preceded  this  movement  and  went  forward  to 
the  skirmish  line.  Although  it  was  dark  a  sharp  engage- 
ment took  place  on  the  skirmish  line,  in  which  Captain 
Allen  was  disabled,  and  Lieutenant  Mason,  of  Company 
H,  was  killed;  this  occurred  about  2  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  brigade  containing  the  39th  made  a  short  de- 
tour to  the  right,  and  in  the  general  attack  of  that  mem- 
orable morning  planted  the  colors  of  the  39th  N.  J.  on 
the  rebel  fort  in  its  front.  Company  K  had  the  position 
of  honor,  being  the  color  company  of  the  regiment  by 
choice.  After  Captain  Allen  was  detached  and  sent  for- 
ward with  the  special  detail  to  the  skirmish  line  the 
command  of  Company  K  devolved  upon  First  Lieuten- 
ant Jacob  McConnell,  who  proved  himself  a  worthy  suc- 
cessor. In  this  two-days  engagement  Company  K  lost 
its  share  of  killed  and  wounded. 

Although  this  regiment  was  recruited  during  the  time 
of  paying  large  bounties  it  can  be  said  to  the  credit  of 
Company  K  that  there  only  three  deserters,  and  Com- 
pany K  reported  a  stronger  and  heartier  lot  of  men  and 
consequently  more  fit  for  duty  than  any  other  company 
in  the  regiment,  being  made  up  of  hardy  Morris  county 
men.  In  recalling  the  career  of  this  fine  company  Cap- 
tain Allen  says: 

"Although  seventeen  years  have  passed  away  I  have 
not  forgotten  the  kindly  feelings  toward  me  entertained 
by  the  men  of  Company  K,  many  of  whom  have  answered 
the  last  roll  call;  I  shall  ever  hold  in  grateful  remem- 
brance all  of  this  little  band,  and  my  devout  wish  is  that 
we  may  all  be  registered  on  the  roll  of  the  Great  Com- 


mander." 

Below  is  a  roll  of 


COMPANY   K. 


OFFICERS. 


The  ofificers  of  Company  K  were  mustered  in  as  well 
as  commissioned  or  enrolled  in  September  1864,  for  one 
year,  and  with  one  or  two  exceptions  were  mustered  out 
in  June  1865. 

Captain. — David  S.  Allen. 

First  Lieutenant. — Jacob  McConnell. 

Second  Lieutenant. — John  Shippee. 

First  Sergeant. — Francis  D.  Sturtevant. 

Sergeants.— ^o\iTi.  N.  Young.  Edward  Y.  Trowbridge. 
George  W.  Harris.     Caleb  J.  Broadwell. 

C<7;-/»w/y.— James  H.  De  Poe.  Daniel  Matthews. 
Morgan    R.    Davies      George    Burtt;    dis.    May   3    '65. 


COMPANY  K  THIRTY-NINTH  N.  J.— THE  DEAD. 


lOI 


Charles  H.  Emmons.     John  W.  Nichols;  dis.  May  3 
Henry  Parsons.     Bernard  J.  Storms. 


'6S- 


PRIVATES. 


The  following  enlisted  in  September  1864,  for  one 
year's  service,  were  mustered  in  September  23d  1864, 
and  were  mustered  out  in  June  or  July  1865;  with  a  few 
exceptions,  which  are  noted. 

EstillBeatty;  dis.  May  3'6s.    William  J.  Belcher.    Wil- 
liam Bishop.  John  W.Blake;  mustered  Oct.  i  '64.  Joseph 
C.  Bower;    dis.  May  3  '65.      Terrence    Brannin.     R.  H. 
Brientnall;     prom.  Q.  M.  sergt.   Oct.   11  '64.      William 
Bugbee.     John  E.  Burres.      George  Carey.      Lewis   H. 
Cook.      William    J.   Cook.      J.  V.  P.  Coonrod 
Corby.      John    M.    Crain.      Jacob    and    Joseph   Crum. 
Rinehart    H.   Davis;    dis.  Apr.    28  '65.      David  M.  De 
Camp;  dis.  Apr.  28  '65.      William  Degraw.      Isaiah  De- 
mont.      Cornet  Deinouth;  enlisted  and  mustered  Jan.  5 
'65;  dis.  Apr.  28  '65.     Amos  J.  and  Edward  L.  Emmons. 
Albert  C,  Jacob  H.  and  Joseph  W.  Fichter.      Daniel  S. 
Force.      A.  B.  Ford;    dis.  Apr.  28  '65.      John    Gervin. 
Nathaniel  Gillum;  mustered  in  Oct.  i  '64.      WilKam  P. 
Hart.      William  Henyon.      William  S.  Hulme.      David 
Huyler.       William     H.    Jones.       Abiather     L.    Kynor. 
Marcus   Lamison.     Samuel    Larue;  mustered   in   Oct.  i 
'64.     Joshua  A.  Lobdell;    mustered  in  Oct.  i  '64;  prom, 
com.  sergt.  Oct.  11  '64.    George  D.  Losey.    John  A.  Love; 
dis.   May    3  '65.       Marshall    Love.       Charles    L.    Love, 
wagoner.     Henry  and  William  H.  Marlatt.      Charles  W., 
Mahlon  J.  and  William  C.  Mills.     John  More.     John  W. 
Morgan.     James  Morrison.     John  Morrison;  dis.  May  3 
'65.      Joseph    Morse  jr.      Joseph  J.  Nichols.      Charles 
Nixon;  dis.  Apr.  28  '65.      Silas  H.  Olmsted;  dis.  May  3 
'65.     David  Palmer.     Isaac  N.  Pruden.     Asher  T.  Quier. 
George  W.  Scripture.     David  S.  Searing.     Samuel  Sharp. 
James    Snyder.     Charles    Taylor.     William  Tillyer,  mu- 
sician; dis.  May  3  '65.     George  D.  Totten.      Israel  Van 
Norwick.     James  S.,  Samuel  and    Silas   B.  Van  Orden. 
.Horace    F.  Wallace.     Henry   Whitehead.      William    H. 
Williams.    Hiram  C.  Wood.    David  and  James  O.  Wright. 
Trans/erred  (first  date  that  of  enlistment  and  muster). 
— John  J.  and  Winfield  S.  Carter,  Apr.  10  '65;  from  Co. 
A,  and  to  33d  N.  J.  June  15  '65.     John  R.  Cutting.  Apr. 
8  '65;  to  Co.  G.      Theodore  Demouth,  Jan.  26  '65;    to 
33d  N.  J.  June  IS  '65.      George    Farling,  Apr.  8  '65;  to 
Co.  G.     Robert  McNabb;  Apr.  10  '65;  to  Co.  H.     John 
F.  Reiley  and  Philip  Ryan;  Apr.  8  '65;  to  Co.  C.     Daniel 
Shawger,  Feb.  9  '65 ;  to  Co.  B.     Leonard  Sous,  Apr.  8  '65 ; 
to  Co.  F.      Aaron  A.  Tebo,  Apr.  13  '65;    to  33d  N.  J. 
,  Jnne  15  '65. 

Died  (these  were  one  year's  men,  and,  excepting  the  first, 
were  enlisted  and  mustered  in  September  1864). — Noah 
O.  Baldwin,  enrolled  Jan.  5  '65;  killed  before  Petersburg, 
Va.,  Apr.  2  '65.  John  Conklin;  died  at  Alexandria,  Va., 
Apr.  10  '65,  of  wounds  received  before  Petersburg  Apr. 
2  '65.  Abram  Earl;  died  at  Alexandria,  Va..  May  6  '65, 
of  wounds  received  before  Petersburg.  Thomas  Plum- 
stead;  killed  before  Petersburg,  Va.,  Apr.  2  '65. 

THE    DEAD. 


Besides  the  casualties  noted  in  the  foregoing  records 
we  are  furnished  with  the  following  partial  list  of  the 
soldiers  of  Morris  county  who  died  in  the  service- 

Seventh  Regiment.— (Most  of  these  men  were  from 
Morristown,  and  that  fact  is  indicated  by  the  letter  M 
following  their  names.  All  but  two  were  members  of 
Company  K.)     Erastus  J.  Ackley;  died  at  Georgetown, 


1861.  Theron  A.  Allen,  M.;  died  1862.  Charles  Y. 
Beers,  M.;  killed  at  Gettysburg.'  Jabez  Beers,  M.; 
killed  at  Petersburg,  1864.  Merrit  Bruen,  Madison; 
died  at  City  Point,  Va.,  1864.  Moses  Berry;  died  in 
Maryland,  1861.  Cyrus  Carter,  1862.  James  Brown,  M. 
(Company  C);  killed  at  Gettysburg.  John  Dempsy 
(Company  H);  killed  at  Gettysburg.  John  Dougherty, 
Wilderness,  1864.  Arthur  Ford,  M.;  died  in  Anderson- 
ville  prison,  1864.  Andrew  Halsey,  M.;  died  at  Peters- 
burg, Va.,  1864.  Jacob  Hopping,  Hanover;  killed  at 
Gettysburg.  Robert  Jolly,  M.;  killed  at  Gettysburg. 
Sylvester  Lynn,  Mendham;  died  at  Petersburg,  1864. 
John  R.  Lyon,  Bull  Run,  Va.,  1862.  William  Long, 
New  Vernon;  died  near  Fairfax  Court-house,  Va.,  1862. 
Charles  B.  Mott,  M.;  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  1863.    Lemuel 

Caleb-|  Marshall,  1862.  J.  Miller,  killed  at  Chesterfield  Bridge, 
Va.,  1864.  Allen  Pierson,  M  ;  Petersburg,  1864.  George 
Pier,    1862.     John   A.   Recanio,  M.;    Belle    Isle    prison, 

1862.  Spafford  Sanders,  1862.  Joseph  L.  Spencer, 
Chatham;  killed  at  Petersburg,  1864.  John  Tillotson, 
1862.  Joseph  Watkins,  M.;  died  of  wounds,  Williams- 
burg, Va.,  1862.  J.  Wright;  died  Sept.  8  1864,  in  An- 
dersonville  prison. 

Fifteenth  Regiment  (Company  F  if  not  otherwise  indi- 
cated).— John   W.  Berry,    Flanders;    killed   at  Spottsyl- 
vania,    1864.     William    Broad  well,   Co.   B;    lost    arm    at 
Salem   Heights,    Va.,    May   3    1863.     EHas    H.   Carlile, 
Chester;    killed    at    Cold    Harbor,    1864.      Felix    Cash, 
Chester;  died  of  wounds,  Potomac  Creek,  1864.     War- 
ren N.   Clausen,   Flanders;    died  at  Washington,   1864. 
Charles  Covert,  Fox  Hill;   killed  at  Spottsylvania,  1864. 
George    D.    Foulds,    Roxbury;    killed  at   Spottsylvania, 
1864.     Charles  Heck,  German  Valley;  died  at  Washing- 
ton,  1864.     Anthony  Hoppler,  German  Valley;  died  at 
White  Oak  Church,'  1863.     Whitefield  Lake,  Schooley's 
Mountain;    Spottsylvania,    1864.     Ira  Lindsley,  Morris- 
town,  Company  C;  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  1865. 
Manning  F.  McDougall,  Chester;   killed  at  Cold  Harbor, 
1864.     John   R.  McKain,   Mount  Olive,   1864.     Charles 
Milligan;  killed   at  Winchester,  1864.     Jacob   A.   Peck- 
well,  Flanders;  killed   at  Spottsylvania,  1864.     John   D. 
Salmon,   Flanders;    died    at  White    Oak  Church,   1863. 
Andrew    F.    Salmon,    Flanders  ;     Spottsylvania,     1864. 
Phineas    F.    Skellinger,    Chester ;    Spottsylvania,    1864. 
William  H.  Sergeant,  Budd's  Lake;  died  at  White  Oak 
Church,    1863.     Alexander   S.    Sergeant,    Budd's    Lake; 
killed    at    Fredericksburg,    1863.       James   W.    Sprague, 
Flanders;  killed  at  Fredericksburg,  1863.     Peter  J.  Sut- 
ton, Fox  Hill;  died  in  prison,  1863.    David  Todd,  Lesser 
Cross  Roads;  died  at  White  Oak  Church,  1863.     Isaac 
Vanarsdale,  Lesser  Cross  Roads;  died  of  wounds,  1864. 
John  Van  Houghton,  Morristown,  Company  C;  killed  at 
Spottsylvania,    1864.     Benjamin    D.    Wear,    White    Oak 
Church,    1863.     Elias   Williamson,    Flanders;    killed   at 
Spottsylvania,  1864.     Edward  A.  Simpson,  Company  C; 
Shenandoah,  1864.     Lewis  Aramerman,  Chester;  died  at 
White  Oak  Church.     Oscar  Brokaw,  Chatham,  Company 
C;  Chancellorsville.     Alexander  Beatty;   died  at  Wash- 
ington, 1863.     William  Bowman,  Ralstontown;  Spottsyl- 
vania,  1864.     Franklin   Camp,  Whippany,   Company  C; 
White  Oak  Church,  1863.     Jacob  Lamerson,  Flanders; 
White  Oak  Church,  1863.     Edward  Day,  Chatham,  Com- 
pany C;    killed   at   Cold    Harbor,  Va.,    1864.     Andrew 
Genung,  Chatham,  Company  C;  killed  in  1864.     James 
Hiler,    Company   C;    Chancellorsville,    1863.     Jeremiah 
Haycock,  Mine  Hill,  Company  C;  killed  at  Cold  Harbor, 
1864.     Frank  Cunningham  and  Virgil  Howell,  Company 
C;  died  at  White  Oak  Church,  1863.     Jonathan  Loree; 
killed  in  the  Wilderness,   1864.     Thomas  Phipps,  Com- 
pany C;  died  at  White  Oak  Church,  Va.,  1863.     William 
Storms,  Company  C;  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  1863. 


102 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


Twenty-Seventh  Regiment. — Stephen  Doty,  Morristown, 
Company  I,  1863.  Samuel  Smith,  Company  K.  and  Al- 
bert Wiggins,  Company  B;  drowned  in  Cumberland  River, 
May  6  1863.  W.  H.  H.  Haines  and  John  Cronan,  New 
Vernon,  Company  I;  died  at  Newport  News.  Louis 
Gregory,  Hanover,  Company  E.  Robert  Lee.  Lemuel 
Lawrence,  Mendham,  Company  E.  Augustus  Salmon, 
Flanders,  Company  C;  died  at  Washington  1863. 

Miscellaneous. — James  M.  Woodruff,  Mendham,  nth 
N.  J.;  killed  at  Mine  Run,  Va.,  1864.  D.  B.  Logan, 
Succasunna,  nth  N.  J.;  killed  at  Gettysburg.  William 
Potts,  Morristown,  nth  N.  J.;  died  in  hospital,  1862. 
John  D.  Evans,  Morristown,  Company  G  8th  N.  J,;  killed 
ai  Cold  Harbor.  David  Cooper,  8th  N.  J.;  killed  at 
Gettysburg.  Isaac  D.  Dickerson,  Malapardis,  Company 
E  i2oth  N.  Y;  died  near  Bealton,  Ya.,  Sept.  9  1863. 
Theodore  Cooper,  Morristown,  6th  N.  J.;  killed  at  Fort 
Pickens,  Fla.,  in  Dec.  1861.  Captain  Charles  W.  Can- 
field,  Morristown,  2nd  U.  S.  cavalry,  killed  in  Virginia. 
Alfred  Axtell,  Morristown,  Company  D  i6th  Mich.; 
killed  at  Petersburg,  1864.  Charles  Carrell,  Morristown, 
Company  B  2nd  N.  J.;  died  in  hospital.  Edward  F. 
Cavanaugh,  Morristown,  Company  B  2nd  N.  J.;  died  at 
Columbus,  Kas.  William  Cole,  Morristown,  3d  N.  J.; 
killed  in  1861.  J.  L.  Doty,  Morristown,  ist  N.  J.  cavalry; 
died  after  leaving  Belle  Isle  prison.  Theodore  Edwards. 
Morristown,  ist  N.  J.  cavalry;  died  in  Belle  Isle  prison, 
James  L.  Freeman,  Morristown,  2nd  D.  C.  volunteers; 
died  in  1862.  John  M.  Lewis,  Morristown,  9th  N.  J.; 
hospital  steward;  died  at  Beaufort,  S.  C,  Nov.  7  1862. 
Willie  Morehouse,  Morristown,  37th  N.  J.;  killed  at 
Petersburg,  Va.  Lindsley  H.  Miller,  Morristown,  U.  S. 
C.  T.,  1864.  Patrick  McShane,  Company  E  4th  N.  Y. 
cavalry.  Samuel  McNair,  Morristown,  Company  K  ist 
N.  Y.  engineers;  died  in  South  Carolina.  John  O'Don- 
nell,  Morristown,  Company  B  2nd  N.  J.;  killed  at  Salem 
Heights,  Va.  George  A.  Perrine,  Morristown,  Company 
B  162nd  N.  Y.;  died  in  Louisiana,  1862.  George  B. 
Wear,  Morristown,  Company  B  2nd  N.  J.  cavalry;  died 
Feb.  25  1864,  from  hardship  in  prison.  Spencer  Wood, 
Morristown,  4th  N.  J.  cavalry;  killed  at  Petersburg,  1864. 
Michael  Cummings,  Morris  Plains,  ist  N.  J.  artillery; 
killed.  James  Mathews,  Company  B  ist  artillery.  A.  W. 
Thompson,  Company  B  2nd  N.  J.;  died  at  White  Oak 
Church,  1863.  William  Wottman,  Chester,  Company  A 
5th  N.  J.;  killed  at  Petersburg,  1864.  William  Wear, 
Company  A  sth  N.  J.;  died  in  1864.  Albert  Collins, 
Company  B  ist  artillery;  died  at  Fortress  Monroe.  Job 
De  Hart,  Morristown,  N.  Y.  regiment;  died  at  New  Or- 
leans, 1864.  Stephen  D.  Fairchild,  17th  Wis.;  died  at 
Washington.  Philip  Keller,  3d  N.  J.  cavalry.  Moses 
Miller,  Company  A  32nd  U.  S.  C.  T.;  died  in  hospital. 
Abram  Earl,  Company  K  39th  N.  J.;  died  at  Alexandria, 
Va.,  May  7  1865.  Hampton  Whitehead,  9th  N.  J.;  killed 
Mar.  14  1862,  near  Newbern,  N.  C.  John  M.  Powers, 
Company  G  ist  Pa.  reserve  corps;  killed  at  South  Moun- 
tain, Sept.  14  1862.  Corporal  Ezra  S.  Day,  30th  N.  J.; 
died  Feb.  21  186^,  at  Belle  Plain. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


A    SKETCH    OF    THE    GEOLOGY    AND    PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY 
'  OF    MORRIS    COUNTY. 


By  F.  a.  CANiaJEtD. 


HIS  county  is  located  in  what  is  known  as  the 
Highlands  of  New  Jersey.  The  surface  is 
quite  irregular,  varying  from  175  feet  above 
the  sea  level  in  the  southeastern  part  to  over 
1,200  feet  in  the  northern. 
Commencing  at  the  southeasterly  boundary,  the 
^  change  in  elevation  of  the  surface  is  gradual 
until  the  bases  of  the  mountain  ranges  running  near  Mor- 
ristown and  Boonton  are  reached,  beyond  which  the  sur- 
face is  very  much  broken.  The  distinction  is  drawn  be- 
tween the  terms  "  mountains  "  and  "'  mountain  ranges," 
the  "  ranges  "  being  made  up  of  a  series  of  partially  de- 
tached mountains.  The  ranges  run  generally  in  a  north- 
easterly and  southwesterly  direction,  while  the  mountains 
themselves  follow  a  more  northerly  course.  The  moun-- 
tains  are  peculiar  in  the  fact  that  they  rise  gradually  at 
the  northeastern  end,  and,  running  with  undulating  crests, 
fall  abruptly  at  the  southwestern  extremity. 

In  point  of  size  the  chief  mountain  ranges  are  School- 
ey's  and  Green  Pond,  but  by  far  the  most  important  in 
an  economic  point  of  view  is  the  range  of  hills  that  lies 
next  to  and  to  the  southeast  of  the  Green  Pond  mountain 
range.  This  belt  bears  nearly  all  the  iron  ore  deposits 
of  the  county.  A  few  deposits  are  worked  in  the  moun- 
tains immediately  west  of  the  Green  Pond  range,  of  which 
the  Hurd  and  Ford  mines  are  the  most  important. 

The  geological  structure  is  not  very  complicated;  for, 
while  the  different  formations  are  divided  by  great  periods 
of  time,  the  members  of  the  geological  column  are  but 
few,  as  many  of  the  intervening  groups  have  no  represent- 
atives among  the  rocks  of  this  county.  The  greater  por- 
tion of  the  county  is  underlain  by  rocks  that  belong  to 
the  oldest  geological  formation  known  in  the  world. 
This  formation  is  termed  the  "  Azoic  " — meaning  "  ab- 
sence of  life  " — and  includes  all  the  syenites,  gneiss,  or 
granitic  rocks,  the  crystalline  limestones,  and  the  magnetic 
iron  ores.  The  magnetic  iron  ores  constitute  but  an  ex- 
tremely small  percentage  of  the  Azoic  rocks,  yet  they  are 
the  most  important  member  of  the  group,  and  occur  in 
beds  that  are  truly  conformable  to  the  inclosing  rocks. 
These  bodies  of  ore  are  not  veins,  according  to  the 
modern  definition  of  the  term,  but  are  of  sedimentary 
origin.  Generally  they  are  lenticular  in  shape.  They  are 
not  continuous  horizontally,  and  their  extent  vertically  is 
uncertain.  Considerable  difference  of  opinion  has  long 
existed  as  to  the  origin  of  these  deposits.  Some  experts 
believe  that  the  beds  are  true  veins  of  igneous  origin, 
having  been  formed  by  the  injection  of  mineral  matter, 
while  in  a  melted  condition,  between  the  walls  of  gneiss. 


FORMATION  OF  IRON  ORE  BEDS— THE  AZOIC  ROCKS. 


103 


It  is  true  that  there  are  evidences  of  the  action  of  heat, 
but  most  geologists  at  the  present  day  hold  that  these 
ores  are  as  sedimentary  in  origin  as  the  rocks  in  which 
they  are  found. 

A  brief  description  of  the  probable  process  by  which 
these  ore  beds  were  formed  will  not  be  without  interest. 
Protoxide  of  iron  exists  in  many  rocks,  and  when  brought 
in  contact  with  carbonic  acid  or  some  organic  acid  it 
combines  with  it,  forming  what  chemists  call  proto-salts 
of  iron.  These  salts  are  readily  soluble  in  water,  which 
by  leaching  them  out  carries  them  to  some  pond  hole 
where  the  current  of  the  stream  is  checked.  Continued 
exposure  of  these  salts  to  the  atmosphere  causes  them  by 
chemical  affinity  to  take  up  or  combine  with  more  oxy- 
gen, forming  sesqui-oxide  of  iron,  which  is  insoluble  in 
water.  This  action  takes  place  at  the  surface  of  the 
water  and  betrays  its  presence  by  a  metallic  film,  show- 
ing the  prismatic  colors,  which  floats  until  the  accumula- 
tion becomes  so  great  as  to  sink  to  the  bottom  in  the 
form  of  a  yellow  precipitate  of  sesqui-oxide  of  iron  or, 
commonly  speaking,  iron  rust.  An  ironmaster  would 
call  it  bog  ore  or  brown  hematite;  a  mineralogist,  limon- 
ite.  Chemically  pure  limonite  consists  of  59.92  per  cent, 
metallic  iron,  25.68  per  cent,  oxygen,  and  14.40  per  cent, 
water.  As  soon  as  a  film  of  sesqui-oxide  of  iron  settles 
another  begins  to  form,  and  this  action  goes  on  continu- 
ally. After  this  product  the  description  of  the  process 
must  necessarily  become  somewhat  hypothetical.  It  is 
supposed  that  a  great  mass  of  this  limonite  has  been  de- 
posited on  the  bottom  of  some  large  sheet  of  water,  and 
through  some  action  of  nature  such  as  a  subsidence  of 
the  surface,  or  an  elevation  of  the  surrounding  country, 
or  violent  storms,  the  process  of  deposition  ceases  and  an 
influx  of  mud  and  sand  takes  place,  covering  the  limonite 
with  material  many  feet  in  thickness.  The  weight  of 
this  covering  would  solidify  the  ore  and  force  the  greater 
part  of  the  free  water  from  it.  Limonite  in  this  condi- 
tion occurs  at  Beattystown,  N.  J. 

The  14.40  per  cent,  of  water  that  is  in  chemical  com- 
bination with  the  iron  cannot  be  expelled  by  pressure 
alone,  but  another  agent  now  acts  in  concert  with  pres- 
sure, namely  heat.  The  source  of  this  heat  is  uncertain, 
but  its  presence  is  proven  by  the  products  of  fusion, 
found  with  the  ore.  Pressure  and  heat  together  expel 
the  last  traces  of  water  from  the  limonite,  and  leave  a 
residue  that  is  an  anhydrous  sesqui-oxide  of  iron.  This 
is  true  hematite,  and  if  pure  consists  of  70  per  cent,  of 
metallic  iron  and  30  per  cent,  of  oxygen.  It  is  an  im- 
portant ore,  but  is  not  found  in  this  county  in  paying 
quantities.  If  while  the  ore  is  subjected  to  the  above 
mentioned  agencies  some  element  like  carbon — having  a 
greater  affinity  for  oxygen  than  the  iron  has — be  present, 
a  partial  reduction  takes  place;  the  ore  yields  a  small 
percentage  of  its  oxygen  to  the  carbon,  becoming  richer 
in  metallic  iron,  and  is  then  called  magnetic  iron  ore,  or 
magnetite — a  name  given  on  account  of  the  property  it 
has  of  influencing  a  magnetic  needle  or  compass.  Pure 
magnetite  can  contain  but  72.4  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron 
ore  and  27.6  per  cent,  of  oxygen. 


The  extent  and  importance  of  this  ore  to  this  county 
will  be  treated  under  a  special  heading. 

While  all  of  the  above  mentioned  reactions  and  trans- 
formations are  taking  place,  the  mud  and  sand  that  were 
above  and  below  the  ore  have  been  subjected  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  same  agencies,  and  what  once  existed  in 
layers  of  soft  material  becomes  a  hard  stratified  rock. 
The  cooling  of  the  earth  causes  it  to  shrink,  and  the 
crust,  being  hardened  by  more  rapid  cooling,  cannot 
contract  sufficiently  without  forming  wrinkles  or  folds  on 
the  surface.  This  throws  the  horizontal  strata  of  rock 
and  ore  up  on  edge  or  in  a  partially  inclined  position,  so 
that  what  once  formed  the  bottom  of  a  lake  may  have  be- 
come a  hill  or  mountain. 

The  Azoic  rocks  of  this  county  are  almost  without  ex- 
ception stratified,  with  a  general  strike  from  the  north- 
east to  the  southwest,  and  generally  with  a  dip  to  the 
southeast,  the  dip  varying  from  horizontal  to  perpendic- 
ular. The  term  "  strike "  means  the  direction  of  the 
edges  of  the  strata  with  reference  to  the  points  of  the 
compass,  and  in  most  cases  it  corresponds  with  the  axes 
of  the  mountains.  The  term  "dip"  is  applied  to  the 
vertical  angle  formed  by  the  plane  of  the  strata  with  a 
horizontal  plane,  and  is  always  taken  at  right  angles  to 
the  strike.  The  southeastern  boundary  of  the  Azoic 
rocks,  after  keeping  a  very  direct  course  from  the  Hudson 
River,  crosses  Passaic  county  nearly  on  the  line  of  the 
Ramapo  River,  and  enters  Morris  county  near  Pompton; 
keeping  the  same  course,  it  passes  just  east  of  Boonton 
and  west  of  Morris  Plains.  A  short  distance  west  of  the 
latter  place  the  line  makes  a  short  turn  to  the  east,  the.n 
runs  due  south  until  it  reaches  Morristown,  where  it 
bends  to  the  southwest  and,  resuming  its  general  course, 
passes  into  Somerset  county  in  the  direction  of  Bernards- 
ville.  A  description  of  this  boundary  is  necessarily 
somewhat  inaccurate,  and  the  line  appears  more  regular 
than  it  probably  is;  in  fact  it  is  but  a  description  of  the 
bases  of  the  mountains  and  hills  on  the  eastern  border  of 
the  formation.  This  indefiniteness  exists  because  of  the 
great  burden  of  earth  that  covers  the  lower  part  of  this 
formation. 

Following  the  line  between  the  counties  of  Morris  and 
Somerset  in  a  westerly  direction  from  the  point  where  the 
eastern  border  of  the  gneiss  leaves  the  county,  no  break 
in  the  formation  occurs  until  a  small  patch  of  the  mag- 
nesian  limestone  and  a  spur  of  Triassic  sandstone  are 
reached  near  the  stream  that  flows  through  Peapack. 
This  gap  is  a  little  more  than  two  miles  in  width.  On 
the  west  side  the  gneiss  appears  again,  and  may  be  fol- 
lowed continuously  on  the  line  between  Morris  and 
Hunterdon  counties  almost  to  the  Warren  county  line, 
with  the  single  exception  of  a  bed  of  limestone,  about 
half  a  mile  in  width,  lying  immediately  west  of  the  foot 
of  Fox  Hill,  in  German  Valley.  The  Musconetcong 
River  forms  the  boundary  between  Morris  and  Warren 
counties  from  a  point  just  south  of  Stephensburg  to  Wat- 
erloo, and  runs  the  entire  distance  on  a  narrow  belt  of 
blue  limestone,  which  separates  the  county  line  from  the 
northwestern  border  of  the  Azoic  rocks  by  a  fraction  of 


104 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


a  mile.  The  line  between  Morris  and  Sussex  counties  is 
formed  by  the  Musconetcong  River  from  Waterloo  to 
Lake  Hopatcong,  and  by  the  lake  to  Woodport,  from 
which  place  an  arbitrary  line  runs  straight  to  a  point  near 
Snufftown,  where  it  meets  the  head  waters  of  the  Pequan- 
nock  River.  This  entire  distance  is  underlain  by  Azoic 
rocks.  The  Pequannock  River  forms  the  division  line 
between  Morris  and  Passaic  counties,  and  flows  in  a 
southeasterly  direction.  For  a  short  distance  after  it 
becomes  the  county  line  the  river  passes  over  Azoic  rocks, 
and  then  crosses  a  belt  of  more  modern  rcicks  that  be- 
long to  the  Lower  Silurian  period.  These  are  known  as 
Potsdam  sandstone  or  Green  Pond  Mountain  rock  and 
Hudson  River  slate.  This  belt  of  Paleozoic  rocks  is 
about  four  miles  wide.  The  stream  leaves  the  sandstone 
just  north  of  Charlotteburgh  and,  continuing  its  south- 
easterly course,  flows  over  gneissic  rocks  until  it  reaches 
their  eastern  boundary  near  Pompton.  The  territory  in- 
cluded in  the  boundaries  that  have  just  been  described 
covers  nearly  three  quarters  of  the  total  area  of  the  county, 
and,  after  excepting  a  few  deposits  all  of  which  are  com- 
paratively small,  the  entire  surface  is  underlain  with 
gneiss  or  syenite. 

The  last  member  of  the  Azoic  rocks  is  the  white  lirne- 
stone,  which  occurs  sparingly  in  two  places.  One  deposit 
is  near  Montville,  where  it  is  associated  with  asbestos, 
fibrous  (chysotile)  and  massive  serpentine.  This  bed  is 
worked  by  the  Boonton  Iron  Company  for  limestone  for 
the  company's  furnaces.  The  other  deposit  is  on  the 
Sanders  farm  near  Mendham. 

Rising  in  the  geological  column,  the  next  period  repre 
sented  by  the  rocks  of  this  county  is  the  Lower  Silurian, 
which  includes  the  Potsdam  sandstone,  the  Hudson 
River  slate  and  all  of  the  remaining  limestones. 

The  sandstones,  being  the  lowest,  should  be  considered 
first.  This  material  varies  greatly  in  structure  and  tex- 
ture. In  some  places  it  consists  of  an  extremely  hard 
conglomerate  made  up  of  large  pebbles,  giving  it  a  beau- 
tiful mottled  appearance,  and  would  make  a  fine  building 
stone  if  it  were  less  difficult  to  dress.  Sometimes  it  oc- 
curs in  large  thin  slabs,  with  fine  grain  and  free  from 
pebbles,  and  makes  a  fair  substitute  for  rough  flagging. 
This  rock  is  also  found  in  the  form  of  sand.  This  for- 
mation, rising  near  Cornwall,  Orange  county,  N.  Y.,  runs 
in  a  southwesterly  direction  across  that  county,  enters 
New  Jersey  just  west  of  Greenwood  Lake,  crosses  Pas- 
saic county,  and  passes  into  Morris  county  at  Newfound- 
land. At  this  point  the  formation  is  about  two  miles 
wide  and  of  low  elevation,  being  crossed  by  the  Pequan- 
nock River.  The  formation  rises  rapidly  as  it  proceeds 
toward  the  southwest.  Three  miles  from  Newfoundland 
it  forms  two  high  ridges  known  as  Green  Pond  Mountain 
and  Copperas  Mountain.  The  latter  is  parallel  to  and 
east  of  the  former.  Green  Pond  lies  between  tliem,  at 
an  elevation  of  1,069  ^^^^  above  sea  level. 

Copperas  Mountain  rises  just  west  of  Charlotteburgh 
and  runs  about  six  miles,  to  Denmark,  where  it  falls  pre- 
cipitously^ allowing  the  passage  of  Green  Pond  Brook. 
The  sides  of  the  mountain   are  very  steep,  being  often 


perpendicular  cliffs  or  ledges  of  rock.  It  takes  its  name 
from  the  iron  mines  near  its  base,  which  were  formerly 
worked  for  copperas — a  sulphate  of  iron.  Green  Pond 
Mountain  rises  near  Newfoundland,  and  continues  with- 
out interruption  until  it  reaches  Baker's  Mill,  where  it 
disappears  below  the  level  of  the  valley  of  the  Rockaway 
River,  which  crosses  the  formation  at  this  place.  The 
west  side  of  this  mountain  is  very  steep,  being  impassable 
in  places.  At  Petersburg  and  Milton  there  is  a  ppur  or 
offshoot  of  conglomerate  on  the  west  side  of  the  valley. 
This  forms  what  is  known  as  Bowling  Green  Mountain, 
and  is  separated  on  the  surface  from  Green  Pond  Moun- 
tain by  a  bed  of  slate,  under  which  the  formation  is  con- 
tinuous. South  of  the  Rockaway  River  at  Baker's  Mill 
the  sandstones  are  found  in  four  isolated  deposits.  The 
first  deposit  makes  its  appearance  between  Duck  Pond 
and  the  bridge  where  the  Chester  Railroad  crosses  the 
Morris  Canal,  extends  in  a  southerly  direction,  and 
gradually  rising  forms  a  low  hill,  steep  toward  the  east 
and  sloping  gently  westward.  The  Morris  Canal  and 
the  public  highway  follow  the  base  of  the  hill  closely 
as  far  as  McCainsville,  where  the  formation 
falls  suddenly  below  the  plain,  allowing  the  passage 
of  the  Morris  Carial,  Black  River,  and  a  branch 
of  the  Longwood  Valley  Railroad.  At  this  extremity 
the  stratification  is  strongly  marked,  and  quarries  yield- 
ing good  building  stones  have  been  opened.  Fine  spec- 
imens of  curved  slabs,  formed  by  the  folding  of  the  rocks, 
are  found  here.  To  the  northwest  of  the  first  deposit 
lies  the  second,  on  the  foot  of  Brookland  Mountain.  The 
Morris  and  Essex  Railroad  crosses  it  a  short  distance  ber 
low  the  Drakesville  depot,  by  an  excavation  commorily 
known  as  the  "  White  Rock  cut,"  the  name  being  sugr. 
gested  by  the  color  of  the  stone.  At  this  place  the  rock 
appears  as  a  typical  sandstone,  being  fine-grained  and 
friable.  The  third  deposit  forms  the  hill  which  rises  near 
the  canal,  west  of  McCainsville.  It  forms  the  western 
boundary  of  Succasunna  Plains,  to  a  point  a  short  dis- 
tance south  of  the  road  leading  to  Drakesville,  and  here 
it  is  lost  under  a  heavy  burden  of  earth.  About  a  mile 
further  south  it  reappears,  forming  the  fourth  deposit, 
the  outlines  of  which  are  traced  with  great  difficulty,  ss 
the  outcrops  are  rare.  The  fourth  deposit  stops  at 
Flanders,  and  is  the  last  of  this  series  that  is  found  in 
the  county.  In  this  deposit  the  last  traces  of  a  rocky 
texture  have  disappeared,  and  the  material  occurs  in  the 
form  of  white  sand.  Large  quantities  have  been  dug 
and  sent  away  by  the  Boonton  Iron  Company  and  by 
private  individuals,  to  be  used  as  a  lining  for  furnaces,  as 
it  is  very  refractory. 

Boulders  of  Potsdam  sandstone  occur  near  German 
Valley,  and,  although  never  found  in  situ,  it  may  exist 
underneath  the  limestones  of  the  valley. 

All  of  these  deposits  may  be  connected  with  one  an- 
other, but  the  burden  of  earth  which  divides  the  outcrops 
is  so  great  that  the  question  of  the  continuity  of  the  for^ 
mation  will  always  be  an  open  one. 

Mount  Paul,  near  Mendham,  is  an  isolated  peak  of  this 
sandstone. 


MAGNESIAN  LIMESTONE— HUDSON  RIVER  SLATE. 


105 


Immediately  above  the  Potsdam  sandstone  comes  the 
Magnesian  limestone — a  name  given  on  account  of  an 
important  constituent,  it  being  nearly  half  carbonate  of 
magnesia,  pure  limestone  containing  carbonate  of  lime 
only.  The  magnesian  limestones  of  this  county  are  gen- 
erally hard,  compact  and  fine-grained,  and  are  free  from 
fossils.  Their  color  varies  from  almost  black  to  gray; 
generally  it  is  of  a  bluish  tint.  The  color  is  due  to  the 
presence  of  organic  matter,  as  the  limestone  burns  white. 

The  largest  deposit  in  the  county  is  in  German  Valley, 
which  place  it  underlies  from  the  foot  of  Fox  Hill  to  the 
foot  of  Schooley's  Mountain.  This  bed  is  elongated, 
with  an  axis  parallel  to  and  nearly  coincident  with  the 
prolonged  axis  of  the  Potsdam  sandstones  just  described. 
It  extends  from  about  a  mile  northeast  of  Naughright- 
vilk  to  about  a  mile  southwest  of  California  in  Hunter- 
don county,  crossing  the  county  line  at  Middle  Valley. 
The  extremities  are  about  nine  miles  apart;  its  greatest 
width  is  about  half  a  mile.  It  is  extensively  worked  for 
lime  for  farming  purposes,  and  considerable  quantities 
are  used  in  the  blast  furnaces  at  Chester  and  Boonton. 

The  second  bed  of  this  variety  of  limestone  in  point  of 
size  is  part  of  a  large  deposit  which  extends  from  south- 
west of  Bloomsbury,  in  Hunterdon  county,  to  Waterloo 
in  Sussex  county,  a  distance  of  some  twenty-five  miles 
along  the  valley  of  the  Musconetcong  River.  The  part 
which  is  in  Morris  county  lies  between  the  river  and  the 
foot  of  Schooley's  Mountain.  The  brown  hematite 
mined  at  Beattystown  is  found  in  this  formation. 

The  next  in  the  scale  of  importance  is  the  deposit  that, 
rising  a  short  distance  south  of  Peapack,  in  Somerset 
county,  runs  northerly  and  enters  the  county  just  west  of 
the  line  between  Mendham  and  Chester  townships.  In 
crossing  the  county  line  it  bends  suddenly  to  the  north- 
east, occupies  the  valley  east  of  Mount  Paul,  skirts  along 
the  base  of  the  mountain,  crosses  the  valley  of  Indian 
Brook,  and  disappears  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile 
northwest  of  the  village  of  Mendham.  The  greatest 
length  of  the  deposit  is  about  six  miles — four  and  a  half 
&f  which  are  in  this  county — and  the  greatest  breadth 
about  half  a  mile.  It  is  partially  bounded  on  the  west 
and  northwest  by  Triassic  shales  and  Potsdam  sandstones, 
while  the  remaining  boundaries  are  gneiss.  Quarries  on 
this  deposit  have  yielded  large  quantities  of  lime  for  fer- 
tilizing and  building  purposes. 

The  remaining  deposits  are  those  at  Middle  Forge. 
Two  of  these  have  been  worked;  both  are  small  and  lie 
on  the  conglomerate.  One  is  near  the  forge  pond,  on 
>the  side  next  the  Green  Pond  Mountain,  and  is  about 
450  feet  long.  The  other,  farther  south,  lies  at  the  foot 
of  the  same  mountain,  near  the  place  where  the  highway 
from  Berkshire  Valley  to  Mount  Hope  turns  to  the  east 
to  cross  the  valley.  These  quarries  were  the  source  of 
the  limestone  used  in  the  furnaces  that  were  formerly 
operated  at  Mount  Hope.  The  small  deposit  of  magne- 
sian limestone  lying  on  the  west  side  of  the  road  leading 
-from  Stanhope  to  Budd's  Lake  is  not  in  place,  but  is 
merely  a  boulder. 

Fossiliferous  limestone  lies  above  the  magnesian  lime- 


stone and  below  the  Hudson  River  slate,  and,  while  ex- 
isting in  large  deposits  in  other  parts  of  New  Jersey,  it 
occurs  but  sparingly  in  this  county.  Its  presence  is 
worthy  of  note,  as  it  is  a  member  of  the  rocks  of  this 
period.  The  only  deposits  are  found  scattered  along  the 
western  base  of  the  Green  Pond  Mountain,  from  Upper 
Longwood  to  Woodstock,  and  along  the  eastern  base 
between  Newfoundland  and  Green  Pond.  The  rock  is 
very  friable  and  full  of  indistinct  fossils,  and  is  generally 
too  impure  to  be  of  much  economic  value. 

Hudson  River  slate  is  another  rock  noteworthy  only 
on  account  of  its  representing  a  formation  that  has 
greater  importance  elsewhere  in  the  State.  Instead  of 
appearing  as  a  typical  slate,  valuable  for  roofing  purposes, 
it  occurs  as  a  hard,  dark  colored  rock,  with  crooked 
seams,  which  cause  it  to  break  in  irregular  masses.  It  is 
refractory,  and  resists  the  action  of  time  to  a  great  de- 
gree. The  sole  deposit  of  slate  in  Morris  county  rises  at 
the  State  line,  between  Greenwood  Lake  and  Bearfort 
Mountain;  runs  parallel  to  the  mountain  side,  contracting 
on  its  approach  to  the  town  of  West  Milford;  and  thence 
gradually  expanding  to  near  the  county  line,  spreads  out 
and  divides  about  the  north  end  of  the  Green  Pond 
Mountain  formation.  The  eastern  branch  is  narrow,  and 
after  crossing  the  county  line  ends,  after  following  for 
about  a  mile  the  valley  of  the  stream  that  rises  near 
Green  Pond  and  flows  into  the  Pequannock  River.  The 
western  branch  is  also  narrow  until  it  passes  Newfound- 
land, when  it  suddenly  expands  to  the  west  and  enters 
the  county  with  a  width  of  about  two  miles.  It  holds 
this  width  as  far  as  Russia,  and  then  commences  to  di- 
minish in  breadth;  at  Milton  its  western  boundary  jumps 
suddenly  to  the  east,  being  crowded  over  by  the  sand- 
stone of  Bowling  Green  Mountain,  until  it  is  only  half  a 
mile  wide.  From  Petersburg  it  follows  the  valley  of  the 
Rockaway  River,  gradually  growing  narrower  and  dis- 
appearing at  Upper  Longwood.  The  eastern  boundary 
is  nearly  straight,  being  formed  by  the  foot  of  Green 
Pond  Mountain,  on  which  this  deposit  lies. 

A  great  break  in  the  geological  column  now  presents 
itself.  None  of  the  rocks  belonging  to  the  Upper  Si- 
lurian, to  the  Devonian  or  Old  Red  Sandstone,  to  the 
Carboniferous  with  its  coal  measures,  nor  to  the  Permian 
period,  have  been  found  in  the  county.  The  next  for- 
mation to  be  considered  is  the  Triassic  or  New  Red 
Sandstone.  This  is  the  age  in  which  reptiles  first  made 
their  appearance,  fishes  being  the  highest  order  of  life 
that  had  existed  heretofore.  This  name  is  given  to  the 
period  because  in  Germany  this  formation  is  composed 
of  three  kinds  of  rock,  viz.:  Bunter  Sandstein,  Muschel- 
kalk  and  Keuper. 

In  geographical  extent  the  Triassic  rocks  of  the  county 
are  exceeded  only  by  those  of  the  Azoic  period.  The 
northwestern  border  of  the  formation  crosses  Passaic 
county  nearly  on  the  line  of  the  Ramapo  River,  and 
enters  Morris  county  at  Pompton;  thence  running  on  a 
very  direct  southwesterly  course  it  passes  through  the 
city  of  Boonton,  and  on  to  Morris  Plains;  there  it  turns 
to  the  south  and  swings  around  the  foot  of  Trowbridge 


io6 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


Mountain,  resumes  at  Morristown  its  former  course,  and 
follows  the  road  to  Bernardsville  until  it  crosses  the 
county  line.  This  it  will  be  seen  is  the  eastern  boundary 
of  the  gneiss.  The  sandstones  lie  upon  the  older  rocks 
throughout  the  entire  distance.  There  are  no  other  boun- 
daries to  this  formation  in  the  county,  as  the  county  line 
cuts  off  but  a  fragment,  as  it  were,  of  a  belt  of  sandstone 
which  is  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  miles  wide,  and 
which,  rising  near  Cornwall,  N.  Y.,  crosses  New  Jersey, 
and  passes  into  Pennsylvania.  The  materials  composing 
this  formation  are  either  red  shales  or  red  sandstones, 
the  latter  being  largely  used  for  building  purposes  under 
the  name  of  "  freestone."  A  black  shale  is  found  at 
Boonton,  which  furnishes  fine  specimens  of  fossil  fish, 
and  small  layers  of  bituminous  matter  resembling  coal. 
Below  the  town  and  near  the  river  slabs  of  rock  may  be 
obtained  bearing  tracks  or  the  imprints  of  the  feet  of  ex- 
tinct reptiles.  These  remains  correspond  exactly  with 
those  found  in  the  Triassic  rocks  of  Connecticut. 

Trap  rocks  in  the  form  of  dykes  or  ridges  are  char- 
acteristic of  the  Triassic  formation.  The  largest  out- 
crop of  this  material  found  in  the  county  is  the  ridge 
which  rises  near  the  village  of  Chatham,  runs  south- 
westerly to  Myersville,  where  it  turns  more  to  the  west- 
ward, crosses  the  county  line  near  Millington,  and  disap- 
pears at  Liberty  Corner.  This  ridge  is  known  as  "  Long 
Hill."  Its  length  is  about  eleven  miles  (eight  of  which 
are  in  this  county)  and  the  average  width  is  about  one- 
third  of  a  mile. 

The  outcrop  of  trap  second  in  importance  is  part  of  a 
formation  which  rises  near  Pine  Brook,  and  running 
north  forms  Hook  Mountain;  keeps  this  course  for  four 
miles,  then  turns  with  a  large  sweep  to  the  east,  and 
leaves  the  county  at  Mead's  Basin. 

The  only  other  deposits  are  two  short  ridges  located 
in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county;  the  larger,  ris- 
ing near  Green  Village,  runs  northwesterly  for  a  short 
distance,  then  turns  due  west  and,  widening  gradually  for 
two  miles  to  about  half  a  mile  in  breadth,  continues  on 
the  same  course  for  about  another  mile,  widens  rapidly  to 
one  and  a  half  miles  and  then  disappears.  The  other 
outcrop  runs  northerly  from  the  same  town  for  three 
miles;  the  southerly  half  is  about  half  a  mile  in  width, 
the  other  part  swings  to  the  west  and  narrows  rapidly 
until  it  disappears. 

This  ends  the  description  of  the  fixed  rocks,  as  none  of 
the  rocks  of  the  later  geological  periods  are  found  in  this 
county. 

The  remaining  feature  to  be  described  is  the  structure 
of  the  surface,  and  in  preparing  this  part  of  the  geology 
of  Morris  county  liberal  drafts  have  been  made  on  the 
State  Geological  Report  for  the  year  1880.  This  report 
describes  the  results  of  glacial  action  throughout  the  en- 
tire State,  and  treats  of  the  subject  exhaustively.  It  is 
highly  recommended  to  the  reader  who  may  desire  a 
more  detailed  account  than  the  following. 

Disregarding  the  ledges  or  outcrops  of  a  rocky  nature, 
the  surface  is  made  up  of  earth,  clays,  sands,  gravels,  and 
boulders.     The  earths  may  be  the  result  of  the  decompo- 


sition and  disintegration  of  the  rocks  lying  in  place  under- 
neath, and  such  earths  can  readily  be  distinguished  by  the 
presence  of  rocky  fragments  having  rough  surfaces  and 
sharp  edges;  or  they  are  made  up  from  materials  brought 
from  a  distance  and  redeposited  through  the  agency  of 
water  and  ice. 

It  is  impossible  to  determine  the  time  when  the  decom- 
position began  from  which  the  earths  now  in  place  are 
derived;  probably  as  soon  as  the  rocks  were  thrown  into 
their  present  positions.  The  action  of  air,  water  and 
frost  has  never  ceased,  but  goes  on  continually,  and  it  is 
to  this  feature  that  the  sustained  fertility  of  the  soil  is 
greatly  due.  Certain  elements  essential  to  plant  life  are 
constantly  set  free  and  offered  to  the  plant  in  such  a  con- 
dition that  they  may  be  readily  absorbed.  These  earths 
may  be  termed  "  native,"  and  are  found  only  where  the 
surface  was  not  exposed  to  glacial  action. 

The  transported  materials  belong  to  what  is  known  as 
the  glacial  period,  and  are  included  in  the  term  "drift." 
During  the  glacial  period  the  ice  field  now  found  in  the 
extreme  northern  latitudes  extended  southward  until  it 
covered  the  northern  part  of  New  Jersey  to  a  depth  of 
nearly  one  thousand  feet,  but  leaving  the  highest  moun- 
tains bare.  Farther  north  it  reached  a  depth  of  several 
thousand  feet.  This  field  of  ice  moved  from  north  to 
south  with  a  creeping  motion,  the  front  part  constantly 
melting  away  as  it  was  pushed  forward  by  the  mass  of 
material  behind,  and  any  movable  object  was  irresistably 
carried  along  by  the  flow.  By  this  means  a  vast  quantity 
of  rock  was  torn  from  its  place  and  transported  greater 
or  less  distances,  often  many  miles.  The  action  being  a 
grinding  one  the  corners  and  edges  of  the  rocks  were 
soon  broken  and  worn  off,  forming  boulders,  and  the 
fragments  exposed  to  the  same  influence  were  ground 
into  pebbles,  gravels  or  sands.  The  surface  of  the  rocks 
in  situ  suffered  accordingly,  and  in  many  places  in  the 
county  the  summits  of  the  mountains  are  worn  and 
rounded,  often  showing  grooves  and  scratches  as  evidences 
of  the  grinding  action.  The  term  "  glacial  drift "  may 
be  applied  to  all  the  debris  resulting  from  the  glacial 
action,  but  for  convenience  its  use  is  confined  to  such 
materials  as  are  thoroughly  intermingled,  while  the  term 
"  modified  glacial  drift "  is  used  to  denote  such  mate- 
rials as  have  been  subjected  to  the  action  of  water,  and 
by  it  have  been  rearranged  in  the  form  of  stratified  beds. 
There  is  no  distinction  made  in  regard  to  the  materials 
composing  the  two  kinds  of  drift;  sometimes  the  two 
formations  lie  side  by  side. 

As  the  glacier  melted  away  at  the  south  and  retreated 
northward  it  left  the  materials  that  it  carried  or  pushed 
forward,  depositing  them  somewhat  as  they  had  been 
grouped  on  or  under  the  ice.  The  southern  limit  of  the 
drift  deposits  is  marked  by  a  line  of  ridges,  heaps,  or 
mounds,  which  is  known  as  the  "  terminal  moraine." 

The  most  southerly  point  of  the  terminal  moraine  found 
in  New  Jersey  is  at  Perth  Amboy,  from  whence  it  takes 
a  north-northwesterly  course  to  the  trap  ridges  near 
Scotch  Plains;  there  it  turns  to  the  northeast,  and  keeps 
this  course  as  far  as  Summit;  turns  at  this  point  to  the 


TEtE  DRIFT  FORMATION— WATEk  COURSES. 


167 


west  and  northwest,  and  crossing  the  Passaic  River 
enters  this  county  at  Stanley.  Hugging  the  northeastern 
end  of  Long  Hill  it  now  swings  to  the  northwest,  turns 
at  Morristown  to  the  north,  and  follows  the  line  of  the 
gneiss  and  red  sandstone  as  far  as  Morris  Plains;  thence 
it  runs  on  the  west  side  and  near  the  track  of  the  Morris 
and  Essex  Railroad  as  far  as  Denville.  At  Denville  the 
line  is  broken,  but  from  deposits  of  drift  found  near 
Ninkey  and  Shongum  it  would  appear  that  the  glacier 
had  extended  up  the  valley  of  Den  Brook  for  several 
miles.  From  Denville  to  Dover  the  line  of  drift  follows 
the  contours  of  the  hills,  but  not  connectedly,  the  deposits 
being  isolated  in  many  cases.  At  Dover  the  formation 
is  shown  in  the  little  tableland  on  which  the  Orchard 
street  cemetery  is  located.  Rounding  the  high  hill  west 
of  Dover  the  line  of  drift  follows  up  the  valley  of  Jack- 
son Brook  from  the  silk  mill  to  the  lower  part  of  Iron- 
dale,  and  from  here  again  turns  to  the  north  and  swings 
by  Port  Oram  and  around  Dunham's  Hill  as  far  as  the 
Scrub  Oak  mine;  thence  runs  across  the  north  end  of 
Succasunna  Plains  to  a  point  near  where  the  Chester 
Railroad  crosses  the  canal,  and  thence  swinging  around 
by  Duck  Pond  passes  on  to  a  point  near  the  Drakesville 
depot.  From  here  the  course  of  the  moraine  passes  by  a 
tortuous  route  by  Budd's  Lake  to  Hackettstown,  and 
there  leaves  the  county. 

The  limits  of  this  article  are  too  confined  to  allow  more 
than  a  brief  notice  of  the  more  striking  features  of  this 
formation.  The  ridge  from  Long  Hill  to  Morristown  is 
quite  level  on  top,  and  being  of  a  light,  porous  soil,  free 
from  large  rocks,  it  is  well  suited  for  building  sites.  These 
advantages  have  already  attracted  a  large  amount  of 
wealth.  Morristown  and  Madison  are  partly  on  this 
ridge.  It  forms  the  divide  between  the  watersheds  of 
the  Whippany  and  the  west  branch  of  the  Passaic  River. 
Its  average  height  above  sea  level  is  about  375  feet. 

Mount  Tabor  is  also  composed  of  drift  material.  The 
gravel  pit  at  the  intersection  of  Clinton  and  McFarlan 
streets  in  the  city  of  Dover  affords  a  fine  section  of  drift. 
The  tableland  west  of  Dover  on  which  St.  Mary's  church 
is  built  belongs  to  this  formation.  The  moraine  hill 
which  extends  from  Dunham's  hill  toward  Duck  Pond 
forms  the  divide  between  the  head  waters  of  the  Passaic 
and  Raritan  Rivers.  The  finest  examples  of  moraine 
hills  are  found  in  Berkshire  Valley. 

A  noteworthy  feature  of  the  effect  of  glacial  action  on 
the  topography  of  the  county  is  seen  in  the  changes  that 
it  has  made  in  the  drainage  of  the  streams  by  reversing 
the  direction  of  the  flow.  The  original  Green  Pond 
Brook  ran  northeast  to  the  Pequannock  River,  but  a 
glacial  dam  prevents  this  and  forces  the  water  to  make 
its  escape  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  lake.  The  natural 
outlet  of  Lake  Hopatcong  was  through  the  Raritan 
River,  but  a  bed  of  drift  near  Hopatcong  station 
closed  this  channel  and  raised  the  water  till  it  found  an 
exit  by  the  way  of  the  Musconetcong  Valley  to  the  Dela- 
ware. Canfield  Island  was  formed  at  the  same  time. 
The  original  outlet  of  Budd's  Lake  fed  a  stream  which 
ran  into  the  Musconetcong  near  Stanhope;  a  dam  of 


drift  shut  this  passage,  and  now  the  surplus  water  escapes 
to  the  Raritan.  The  drainage  of  Succasunna  Plains  was 
in  pre-glacial  times  to  the  northeast  to  the  Rockaway 
River,  but  the  moraine  above  referred  to  turned  the 
water  in-to  the  Raritan.  Burnt  Meadow  Brook  once 
flowed  into  the  Rockaway  near  Baker's  Mill,  but,  being 
turned  by  a  mass  of  drift,  it  passes  over  the  lowest  part 
of  the  dam  at  Mount  Pleasant  and  meets  the  same  river 
below  Port  Oram. 

This  reversal  of  the  water  courses  is  easily  explained 
when  the  condition  of  things  during  the  glacial  epoch  is 
understood.  The  flow  of  the  ice  fields  came  from  the 
north,  and  on  reaching  a  river  acted  as  a  dam,  and  back- 
ing the  water  up  forced  it  to  find  a  passage  in  some 
other  direction,  which  was  necessarily  to  the  southwest, 
the  mountain  ranges  preventing  its  escape  elsewhere. 
As  the  ice  retreated  it  left  behind  the  vast  deposits  of 
drift,  which,  though  smaller  than  the  glaciers,  were 
sufficient  to  control  the  flow  of  the  streams,  and  in 
many  cases  made  permanent  the  changes  effected  by  the 
ice. 

Morris  county  is  well  supplied  with  water;  three  of  the 
largest  streams  in  the  State  find  their  sources  here,  and 
with  their  tributaries  so  subdivide  the  surface  that  there 
are  no  large  areas  unprovided  for.  The  system  of  water- 
courses may  be  divided  into  three  parts,  viz.:  the  water- 
sheds of  the  Musconetcong,  the  Raritan  and  the  Passaic 
Rivers. 

The  Musconetcong  rises  near  the  Ford  mine,  in  Jeffer- 
son township,  and  there  bears  the  name  of  Weldon 
Brook.  It  flows  into  Lake  Hopatcong,  and  thus  be- 
comes a  feeder  to  the  Morris  Canal,  which  draws  its 
supply  from  this  lake.  The  Musconetcong  receives  the 
drainage  of  the  west  slope  of  Brookland  and  Schooley's 
Mountains,  flows  to  the  southwest  and  empties  into  the 
Delaware. 

The  Raritan  is  split  into  three  parts,  viz.:  the  "south 
branch,"  Black  or  Lamington  River,  and  the  "  north 
branch."  The  first  flows  through  Flanders  and  German 
Valley;  the  second,  or  middle  branch,  flows  through 
Succasunna  Plains  and  Hacklebarney;  and  the  third,  or 
north  branch,  rising  near  Mount  Freedom,  flows  through 
Calais  and  Roxiticus.  All  of  these  streams  leave  the 
county  before  they  come  together. 

The  third  system  is  that  of  the  Passaic  River,  which 
may  be  divided  into  the  Passaic  River  proper,  the 
Whippany,  the  Rockaway  and  the  Pequannock  Rivers. 
The  Passaic  rises  near  Mendham,  flows  south  for  about 
two  miles  to  the  county  line,  which  it  forms  from  this 
point  to  Two  Bridges,  a  distance  of  over  forty  miles,  and 
receives  directly  all  the  drainage  south  of  Morristown 
and  as  far  east  as  Madison.  The  country  north  and  east 
of  Morristown  forms  the  watershed  of  the  Whippany, 
which,  rising  near  Mount  Freedom,  flows  through  Brook- 
side,  Morristown  and  Whippany,  drains  the  Troy  Mead- 
ows and  empties  into  the  Rockaway  River  at  Hanover 
Neck.  The  Rockaway  rises  in  Sussex  county,  enters 
this  county  near  Hopewell,  flows  southwest  through 
Longwood   and   Berkshire   Valleys,  following  the  west 


toS 


ttlSTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


base  ot  Green  Pond  Mountain,  around  which  it  turns 
at  Baker's  Mill,  and  taking  a  isoutheasterly  course 
fempties  into  the  Passaic  River  at  Hanover  Neck.  It  re 
ceives  the  Burnt  Meadow  Brook  and  Jackson  Brook  near 
Dover,  and  the  Whippany  River  about  half  a  rriile 
from  its  junction  with  the  Passaic,  and  flows  through 
Dover,  Rockaway,  Powerville  and  Bobnton,  furnishing 
valuable  water  power  at  these  places.  The  Pequannock 
River  rises  in  the  Waywayanda  Mountains,  in  Sussex 
county^  and  does  not  enter  Morris  county,  but  forms  the 
boundary  line  from  a  point  near  Snufftown  to  Two 
Bridges,  where  it  meets  the  Passaic,  a  distance  of  nearly 
thirty  miles.      This  river  receives  the  drainage  of  all  the 


northeastern  part  of  the  county,  and  is  largely  used 
for  manufacturing  purposes  at  Bloomingdale  and 
Pompton. 

The  soils  of  this  county  are  generally  very  productive, 
especially  on  the  hills  that  furnish  native  earth,  as  this 
material  seefns  to  have  the  power  of  resuscitating  itself  if 
allowed  to  test  from  time  to  time,  and  properly  worked 
in  the  meantime.  The  yield  of  the  limestone  soils  will 
compare  favorably  with  that  of  any  other  part  of  the 
State.  The  open  and  porous  soils  are  more  easily  ex- 
hausted, and  require  the  renewal  of  fertilizers  from  year 
to  year,  which  if  furnished  render  the  soil  very  pro- 
ductive. 


CITY,  VILLAGE  AND  TOWNSHIP  HISTORIES. 


MORRISTOWN. 


By  Bbv.  Rubus  S.  Geeen. 


^ORRISTOWN*,  the  county  seat  of  Morris 
county,  is,  like  Zion  of  old,  "  beautiful  for 
situation."  It  nestles  among  tlje  hills,  of 
which  no  less  than  five  ranges  furnish  most 
charming  building-sites.  The  drives  about 
the  city  are  unsurpassed  in  variety  and 
loveliness.  Add  to  its  natural  beauty 
purity  of  air  and  water,  and  freedom  from,  debt,  and 
we  have  the  causes  which  have  dotted  these  hills  with 
elegant  villas,  and  which  are  attracting  rnore  and  more 
the  wealth  and  culture  of  neighboring  cities.  The  death 
rate  is  less  than  15  for  1,000  inhabitants.  The  town 
lies  thirty  miles  due  west  from  New  York  city.  The 
Green  is  371  feet  above  the  ocean  level. 

The  population  of  Morris  township,  with  Morristown, 
has  grown  pretty  steadily  during  the  period  of  census 
returns.  These  have  been  as  follows:  1810,3,753;  1820, 
3,524;  1830,  3,536;  1840,  4,006;  1850,  4,997;  i860,  5,- 
985  (182  colored);  1870,  5,673  (239  colored);  1875,  6,- 
950  (285  colored);   1880,  6,837  (Morristown,  5,418). 

The  statistics  of  property,  taxation,  etc.,  in  1881  were 
as  follows:  Acres  in  the  township,  9,125;  valuation  of 
real  estate,  $4,360,000;  personal  property,  $1,365,000; 
debt,  $325,000;  polls,  1,570;  State  school  tax,  $13,751; 
county  tax,  $12,832.42;  road  tax,  $7,000;  poor  tax,  $300. 
On  the  29th  of  March  1684  David  Barclay,  Arthur 
Forbes  and  Gawen  Lawrie  wrote  to  the  Scots  proprie- 
tors respecting  this  part  of  the  country:  "  There  are  also 
hills  up  in  the  country,  but  how  much  ground  they  take 
up  we  know  not;  they  are  said  to  be  stony,  and  coverefj 


*  In  preparing  the  folio-wing  pages  for  '.the  "  Illustrated  History 
of  Morris  pounty  "  the  compiler  desires  first  of  all  to  thank  the  many 
■who  have  cheerfully  aided  him.  Without  this  aid  it  would  have  been 
impossible  for  him,  burdened  with  the  care  of  a  large  church 
ai}4  parish,  to  have  performed  $he  work.  He  has  made  free  use  of  the 
materials  placed  in  his  han^i  "o*  hesitating  to  adopt  the  language, 
where  it  suited  his  purpose,  as  well  as  to  record  the  facts  furnished. 
Tp  stste  this  is  due  as  much  to  himself  as  tp  the  friends  who  have  as- 
sisted him.  He  will  venture  to  say  that,  from  the  time  and  care  he  has 
expended,  as  well  as  from  the  trustworthy  character  of  the  materials 
he  has  had  ^it  his  disposal,  he  hopes  f ev.,  if  any.  iijf portant  errors  will  be 
discovered.  He  has  oonabi^ntiously  sought  to  ma^e  these  pages  a  reli- 
able history. 


with  wood,  and  beyond  them  is  said  to  be  excellent  land." 
This  would  indicate  that  this  region  was  at  that  tirrie 
ierra  incognita. 

But  little  definite  information  can  be  obtained  concern- 
ing the  first  settlers  of  the  township  of  Morris.  They 
probably  came  from  Newark,  Elizabeth,  Long  Island  and 
New  England.  This  much  the  names  which  first  meet 
us  would  seem  to  indicate.  The  same  uncertainty  at- 
taches to  the  date  of  their  settlement.  In  the  year  1767 
the  Rev.  Jacob  Green,  third  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  of  Hanover,  wrote  a  history  of  that  church,  which 
still  survives  in  manuscript,  in  the  preface  of  which  he 
says  that  "about  the  year  17 10  a  few  families  removed 
from  Newark  and  Elizabeth,  &c.,  and  settled  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Passaic  River,  in  that  which  is  now  Morris 
county."  In  the  East  Jersey  Records,  Liber  F  3,  p.  28, 
at  Trenton,  there  appears  the  copy  of  a  deed  of  a  tract 
of  land  within  the  bounds  of  this  township,  consisting  of 
967  37  acres,  which  was  conveyed  on  the  ist  of  June 
1769  by  "the  Right  Hon.  William,  Earl  of  Sterling,  and 
Lady  Sarah,  Countess  of  Stirling,"  for  the  sum  of  ^^2,902 
to  Colonel  Staats  Long  Morris,  of  New  York.  The  deed 
says  this  tract  was  originally  surveyed  in  17 15. 

In  the  same  year  the  land  on  which  Morristown  is 
built  was  surveyed  to  Joseph  Helby,  Thomas  Stephenson 
and  John  Keys  or  Kay.  The  last  named  had  2,000  acres, 
and  each  of  the  others  1,250  acres.  Keys's  claim  em- 
braced the  land  now  occupied  by  the  park.  That  of 
Helby  ran  from  George  W.  Johnes's  toward  Speedwell, 
and  southwest  to  the  former  residence  of  General 
Doughty.  That  of  Stephenson  included  the  Revere  and 
neighboring  farms.     We  append  the  deed  to  Kay: 

"  By  virtue  of  a  warrant  from  ye  Council  of  Proprietors, 
bearing  date  ye  tenth  day  of  march  last  past,  I  have  sur- 
veyed this  Tract  or  Lott  of  land  unto  John  Kay  within 
ye  VVestern  Division  of  ye  Province  of  New  Jersey,  in  ye 
Last  indian  purchases  made  of  ye  Indians  by  ye  said 
Proprietors;  Situate  upon  &  near  a  Branch  of  Passamisfe 
River  Called  whipene.  beginning  at  a  small  hickory 
corner  standing  near  a  Black  oak  marked  K,  ten  cha: 
distance  from  a  corner  of  Wm.  Pens  Lands;  thence  Nortji 


no 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


west  one  hundred  sixty  &  fiva  cha:  crossing  ye  said 
Whipene  to  a  corner  white  oak  marked  also  K;  thence 
South  west  one  hundred  twenty  and  seven  cha:  &  twenty 
five  link  to  a  poast  for  a  corner  under  ye  side  of  a  hill 
called  mine  mountain;  from  thence  Southeast  one  hun- 
dred sixty  &  five  cha:  to  a  poast;  then  North  East  one 
hundred  twenty  seven  cha:  &  twenty  five  links,  &  by 
ye  bound  of  Govn.  Pens  land  to  ye  place  of  beginning; 
Containing  Two  thousand  acres  of  Land  besides  one 
hundred  acres  allowance  for  Highways;  surveyed  April  ye 
28th  1 7 15  pr  me  R  Bull  Survy. 

"Ye  22  of  August  1715  Inspected  &  approved  of  by 
ye  Council  of  Prbprs.  and  ordered  to  be  Entered  upon 
Record. 

"  Tests,  John  Wills  clerk." 

We  cannot  be  far  out  of  the  way  in  placing  the  date  of 
the  first  settlement  of  Morristown  back  nearly  or  quite 
to  1 7 10,  as  found  in  the  manuscript  history  of  the  Rev. 
Jacob  Green. 

We  know  not  when,  where,  or  by  whom  the  first  house 
was  built.  It  stood,  no  doubt,  near  the  bank  of  the 
Whippany,  where  the  grist-mill,  the  saw-mill  and  the 
forge  were  soon  erected.  The  Indians  had  not  then 
disappeared  from  the  region  ;  while  game  abounded 
along  the  streams,  and  bears,  wolves  and  panthers 
roamed  through  the  forests. 

The  motive  which  led  to  the  settlement  of  the  place 
by  these  early  pioneers  was  probably  the  betterment  of 
their  temporal  prospects^many  of  them  being  drawn 
hither  by  the  iron  in  which  the  mountains  abounded. 
To  their  praise  be  it  said,  however,  that  they  were  a 
God-fearing  people.  Religion  had  a  controlling  voice  in 
all  their  movements.  It  was  the  religious  element  that 
led  the  New  Englanders  and  the  Scotch  and  the  Irish  to 
this  province,  whose  fundamental  condition  guaranteed 
the  largest  liberty  of  conscience  to  all  settlers;  it  was 
here  that  many  came  to  be  freed  from  the  spiritual  des- 
potism which  galled  them  at  home,  and  to  certain  locali- 
ties some  repaired  to  test  their  favorite  scheme  of  a  pure 
church  and  a  godly  government  in  which  power  was  to 
be  exercised  only  by  those  who  were  members  of  the 
church,  and  where  everything  in  active  antagonism  with 
this  principle  was  to  be  removed.  On  this  basis  Newark 
and  a  few  other  towns  were  founded.  Those  who  came 
into  this  region  from  older  settlements  where  religion 
was  deemed  vital  to  the  best  interests  of  the  people 
brought  with  them  the  sacred  love  of  liberty  and  of 
truth,  and  the  highest  regard  for  religious  institutions, 
which  was  operative  here  as  elsewhere  in  honoring  the 
Sabbath  and  the  sanctuary  and  in  regulating  social  and 
domestic  life. 

Among  the  regulations  made  by  the  Duke  of  York  for 
settlers  in  this  province,  under  which  regulations  Morris- 
town  was  probably  settled,  we  find  the  following,  respect- 
ing the  support  of  the  gospel:  "  Every  township  is  obliged 
to  pay  their  own  minister,  according  to  such  agreement  as 
they  shall  make  with  him,  and  no  man  to  refuse  his  own 
proportion;  the  minister  being  elected  by  the  major  part 
of  the  householders  and  inhabitants  in  the  town." 

Such  being  the  character  of  the  people,  we  are  not 
surprised  to  find  a  church  established  as  early  as  17 18. 


This  was  in  Hanover — the  church  of  which  the  Rev. 
James  A.  Ferguson  is  the  pi-esent  pastor.  To  this  house 
of  worship  the  people  of  West  Hanover  (Morristown) 
resorted  until  the  year  1733.  By  that  time,  the  number 
of  inhabitants  having  largely  increased  and  the  distance 
being  so  great,  the  desire  became  general  to  have  a 
church  of  their  own,  which  was  accomplished  a  few 
years  later,  when  the  First  Presbyterian  church  began  its 
long  career. 

In  1738  the  village,  if  it  might  be  so  named,  was  cen- 
tered mainly  in  Water  street,  though  Morris  street  might 
boast  of  an  occasional  hut,  and  perhaps  two  or  three 
might  be  found  amidst  the  clearings  of  the  Green.  Else- 
where the  forest  trees  were  standing,  and  what  is  now  the 
park  could  boast  of  the  giant  oak,  the  chestnut  and  other 
noble  specimens  of  growth.  The  woods  around  were 
visited  by  the  panther  and  the  bear,  while  wolves  in  great 
numbers  answered  each  other  from  the  neighboring  hills. 
The  sheep  and -cattle  were  brought  into  pens  for  the 
night.  Roads  were  scarcely  known.  The  bridle  path  or 
Indian  trail  was  all  that  conducted  the  occasional  trav- 
eler to  Mendham,  who  saw  on  his  way  thither  a  mill,  a 
blacksmith's  shop  and  two  dwellings — in  three  separate 
clearings.  There  was  scarcely  a  better  path  to  Basking 
Ridge.  There  were  no  postal  routes,  no  newspapers  and 
but  few  books  to  instruct  and  amuse.  Life  was  then  a 
reality.  In  the  new  settlement  every  one  had  to  be  busy 
in  order  to  procure  such  comforts  and  necessaries  as  were 
required.  Frugal  habits  and  simple  manners  distinguished 
their  every  day  life;  and  their  domestic  relations  partook 
more  of  the  patriarchal  and  less  of  the  commercial,  for 
worldly  prosperity  had  not  been  sufficient  to  create  that 
jealous  distinction  of  rank  with  which  we  are  so  often 
charged  as  a  community.  Religion  had  a  moulding  in- 
fluence upon  the  household,  and  from  dearth  of  news 
often  formed  the  principal  topic  of  converse  between 
neighbors.  The  Sabbath  was  rigidly  kept,  and  the  church 
was  regularly  frequented. 

One  church,  as  yet  without  a  pastor,  two  public  houses, 
a  grist  and  saw-mill,  a  forge,  a  few  scattered  houses,  an 
almost  endless  forest  wherein  still  lingered  the  Indian 
and  wild  beast,  a  law-abiding  and  God-fearing  people — 
these  are  the  known  conditions  of  that  early  time. 

TOWNSHIP  HISTORY  TO  THE  REVOLUTION. 

We  come  now  to  the  second  period  of  our  history, — 
from  the  formation  of  the  township  to  [|the  beginning  of 
the  war  of  the  Revolution. 

The  original  name  of  Morristown  was  West  Hanover. 
This  appears  from]the  minutes,  of  .the  Synod ^,of  Phila- 
delphia, to  which  we  shall  have  occasion  again  to  refer. 
As  late  as  1738  this  name  occurs  in  the  synod's  minutes. 
It  was  also  called  New  Hanover,  as  appears  from  the 
licenses  granted  by  the  county  court  to  keep  public 
houses.  A  record  in  the  first  volume  of  minutes  of  the 
court  of  common  pleas  for  Morris  county,  which  is 
printed  on  page  21,  fixes  the  date  of  the  adoption  of  the 
present  name  of  the  township  as  March  25th  1740. 

Of  this  period  between  the  formation  of  the  township 


SUNDAY  IN  OLD  MORRISTOWN— FORD  THE  COUNTERFEITER. 


311 


and  the  war  of  the  Revolution  little  more  need  be  said. 
The  town  grew  but  slowly.  Some  improvements  were 
made.  A  Baptist  church  was  organized  and  built  and  a 
court-house  erected.  A  steeple  was  added  to  the  Pres- 
byterian church  and  a  bell  placed  in  it. 

The  needs  of  the  people  were  few,  and  their  mode  of 
living  was  simple.  Indications  are  not  wanting,  however, 
of  the  presence  and  gradual  increase  of  families  of  wealth 
and  culture,  who  gave  to  the  town  a  reputation,  which  it 
still  retains,  of  being  "  aristocratic." 

Sunday  was  the  great  day  of  the  week..  Good  Pastor 
Johnes,  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  could  see  his 
congregation  coming  through  the  forest  from  the  neigh- 
boring farms,  not  riding  in  wagons,  but  (if  the  distance 
was  too  great  to  walk)  on  horseback,  the  wife  behind  her 
husband  on  the  pillion,  while  the  children  managed  to 
cling  on  them  as  best  they  could.  The  women  were 
clothed  in  homespun,  from  the  fruits  of  that  industry 
which  has  given  the  name  of  "  spinster  "  to  the  unmar- 
ried daughters  of  the  family,  showing  their  constant  oc- 
cupation. In  the  winter  they  brought  their  footstoves, 
filled  with  live  coals,  to  put  under  their  feet  during  ser- 
vice, while  the  men  disdained  such  an  approach  to  ef- 
feminacy. If  there  was  an  evening  service  each  family 
brought  one  or  two  candles,  and  persons  sat  holding 
them  during  the  meeting;  for  even  candlesticks  on  the 
walls  and  pillars  were  not  then  provided.  But  though 
the  men  could  bravely  sit  with  cold  feet  in  the  winter, 
they  did  not  hesitate  to  take  off  their  coats  in  the  heat  of 
summer,  and  if  sleep  seemed  likely  to  overpower  them 
they  would  stand  up  and  thus  remain  until  the  inclination 
to  drowsiness  had  passed.  The  men  sat  together  upon 
one  side  of  the  house,  and  the  women  and  children  upon 
the  other  side,  separated  from  each  other  by  the  broad 
aisle.  The  young  people  occupied  the  galleries,  the 
young  men  and  boys  upon  one  side  of  the  church,  the  young 
ladies  and  girls  upon  the  other.  This  necessitated  the 
appointment  of  certain  men  of  grave  and  staid  aspect  to 
sit  m  the  galleries  to  preserve  order. 

There  is  one  item  of  history,  however,  which  falls 
within  this  period,  which  can  scarcely  be  passed  over, 
and  which  we  may  place  under  the  head  of 

COUNTERFEITERS. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  there  should  be  at  least  one 
blot  upon  the  fair  history  of  Morristown.  We  would  fain 
pass  it  by,  but  truth  is  inexorable,  and  the  historian  has 
no  choice.  The  following  account  is  for  the  most  part 
a  condensation  from  two  articles,  to  which  the  reader  is 
referred  for  fuller  details — one  by  William  A.  Whitehead, 
on  "  The  Robbery  of  the  Treasury  in  1768  "  {Proceedings 
of  the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  Vol.  V.,p.  49),  and 
the  other  by  Rev.  Joseph  F.  Tuttle,  D.  D.,  on  the 
"  Early  History  of  Morris  County  "  {Proceedings  of  the 
New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  Second  Series,  Vol.  II., 

P-  is)- 

Samuel  Ford  was  the  leader  of  a  notorious  gang  of 

counterfeiters,  who  infested  this  region  just  previous  to 

the  war  of  the  Revolution.      He  was    the  grandson  of 


widow  Elizabeth  Lindsley,  the  mother  of  Colonel  Jacob 
Ford.  His  father's  name  was  also  Samuel.  His  mother 
was  Grace,  the  daughter  of  Abraham  Kitchel,  of  Han- 
over, and  sister  of  Aaron,  the  Congressman.  Her  great- 
grandfather was  Rev.  Abraham  Pierson  sen.,  of  Newark. 
His  family  connections  were  therefore  of  the  best  and 
most  respectable.  Most  of  his  companions  in  villainy 
also  stood  high  in  society.  These  were  Benjamin 
Cooper,  of  Hibernia,  son  of  Judge  Cooper,  before  whom 
he  was  afterward  tried  for  his  crime;  Dr.  Bern  Budd,  a 
leading  physician  in  Morristown,  and  a  prominent  mem- 
ber in  its  society;  Samuel  Haynes,  and  one  Ayres,  of 
Sussex  county,  both,  as  was  also  Cooper,  justices  of  the 
peace;  David  Reynolds,  a  common  man  with  no  strong 
social  connections;  and  others  whose  names  will  appear 
as  we  proceed. 

Ford  had  followed  the  business  of  counterfeiting, 
which  he  pleasantly  called  a  "money-making  affair,"  for 
a  number  of  years  before  he  began  operations  in  this 
vicinity.  In  1768  he  was  arrested  by  the  authorities  of 
New  York  on  a  charge  of  uttering  false  New  Jersey  bills 
of  credit;  but  we  cannot  find  that  he  was  ever  brought 
to  trial.  Shortly  after  this  he  went  to  Ireland  to  improve 
himself  in  his  profession,  this  being  his  second  trans- 
atlantic trip  in  the  prosecution  of  his  business.  Ireland 
was  reputed  to  furnish  at  this  time  the  most  skillful 
counterfeiters  in  the  world.  Here  Ford  became,  it  is 
said,  "  a  perfect  master  of  the  business."  He  returned 
to  this  country  in  1772,  and  at  once  set  to  work  on  an 
extensive  scale.  He  established  himself  about  midway 
between  Morristown  and  Hanover,  in  a  swamp  island  on 
the  Hammock.  For  the  greater  part  of  the  year  the  sur- 
rounding water  was  a  foot  deep.  Through  this  swamp 
Ford  was  obliged  to  creep  on  his  hands  and  knees  to  get 
to  his  work.  He  would  leave  his  house  at  daylight  v/ith 
his  gun,  as  if  in  pursuit  of  game,  and  thus  unwatched 
would  attain  his  secret  resort;  for  this  practice  was  so 
.much  in  accordance  with  the  idle  life  he  had  apparently 
always  led  that  it  excited  neither  surprise  nor  remark. 
Still  it  was  difficult  for  people  to  understand  how  a  man 
whose  only  ostensible  means  of  livelihood  were  a  few 
acres  of  swampy  land,  the  cultivation  of  which  moreover 
was  sadly  neglected,  could  wear  the  aspect  of  a  thriving 
farmer  with  plenty  of  money.  In  one  way  and  another 
suspicion  was  aroused;  and  at  last,  on  the  i6th  of  July 
1773,  Ford  was  arrested  and  lodged  in  the  county  jail. 
That  very  night,  however,  or  the  day  following,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  effecting  his  escape,  being  aided  by  a  confed- 
erate by  the  name  of  John  King,  who  in  all  probability 
was  the  same  "  John  King"  who  was  "  late  under-sheriff 
of  Morris  county."  His  position  gave  him,  of  course, 
every  facility  to  aid  his  companion  in  crime.  Nor  did 
Sheriff  Kinney  escape  the  charge  of  implication  in  this 
matter.  He  was  afterward  indicted  for  remissness  of 
duty  in  allowing  the  escape  of  so  dangerous  a  prisoner. 
The  privy  council  regarded  him  as  "blamable  for  neg- 
ligence in  his  office,  respecting  the  escape  of  Ford,"  and 
advised  the  governor  "  to  prosecute  the  said  indictment 
at  the  next  court." 


16 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


Ford  first  fled  to  a  lonely  spot  on  the  mountain,  be- 
tween Mount  Hope  and  Hibernia,  and  hid  himself  in  a 
deserted  colliery,  called  "  Smultz's  Cabin."  Sheriff  Kin- 
ney with  a  posse  of  men  sought  him  there,  but  so  leisure- 
ly that  when  he  reached  the  cabin  the  bird  had  flown. 
From  Hibernia  Ford  fled  southward,  boldly  paying  his 
way  with  his  spurious  Jersey  bills  and  counterfeit  coin. 
At  last  he  reached  Green  Briar  county,  among  the  moun- 
tains of  Virginia,  where  he  settled  and  assumed  the  name 
of  Baldwin.  Here  he  followed  the  trade  of  a  silversmith, 
forming  a  partnership  with  another  man.  During  a  se- 
vere illness  he  disclosed  his  real  history  to  his  partner's 
wife,  who  so  sympathized  with  him  that  after  his  recov- 
ery and  the  death  of  her  husband  she  married  him,  and 
thus  became  his  third  living  wife.  His  first  wife,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  Grace  Kitchel,  of  Hanover.  While  in 
Ireland,  perfecting  himself  in  his  "  profession,"  he  mar- 
ried an  Irish  girl,  with  whom  he  is  said  to  have  received 
considerable  money.  She  came  to  this  country  with  him, 
and  was  well  nigh  crazed  on  finding  that  he  already  had 
a  wife  and  children.  She  is  said  afterward  to  have  mar- 
ried an  Irishman,  and  lived  for  many  years  in  Whippany. 

The  pursuit  of  Ford  was  not  of  a  very  diligent  charac- 
ter. When  his  whereabouts  became  known  in  the  course 
of  time  it  does  not  appear  that  he  was  molested.  His 
oldest  son,  William  Ford,  and  Stephen  Halsey  (son  of 
Ananias)  visited  him  in  Virginia,-  where  they  found  him 
with  "a  great  property,"  a  new  wife,  and  some  promising 
young  Baldwins;  and  thus  the  possible  ancestor,  so  the 
historian  suggests  of  the  Virginia  Baldwins  who  have 
figured  in  public  life.  To  his  son  and  Mr.  Halsey  he 
seemed  to  be  a  "  most  melancholy  man."  He  professed 
to  them  a  deep  penitence  for  his  sins,  and  a  grace  which 
led  to  a  religious  life;  the  sincerity  of  which  we  may  how- 
ever be  permitted  to  doubt,  as  it  did  not  lead  him  to 
abandon  his  adulterous  relations  and  do  justice  to  the 
excellent  woman  in  New  Jersey  whom  he  had  left  to  support 
herself  and  his  family  without  a  farthing's  aid  from  him. 

At  the  time  of  Ford's  arrest  and  escape  several  other 
persons  were  taken  up  on  suspicion  of  being  connected 
with  him  in  his  "  money-making  scheme."  On  the  4th 
of  August  1773  ^  special  term  of  oyer  and  terminer  was 
held  for  the  purpose  of  eliciting  information  respecting 
the  parties  implicated  and  the  extent  of  their  guilt.  On 
the  14th  one  of  those  concerned,  that  he  might  mitigate 
his  own  punishment,  made  a  partial  confession,  and  was 
followed  by  another  who  gave  a  full  and  explicit  state- 
ment of  all  the  details.  The  swamp  was  examined  and 
the  press  found,  together  with  a  set  of  plates  for  printing 
the  bills  of  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  New  York  and  New 
Jersey;  a  quantity  of  type  and  other  materials,  and  a 
leather  wrapper  in  which  the  money  was  kept.  The  late 
Sheriff  Robertson  of  Morris  county  became  the  owner  of 
the  house  in  which  Ford  lived,  on  the  Hammock,  and  in 
repairing  it  found  some  of  Ford's  counterfeiting  tools  in 
the  walls,  where  many  years  before  he  had  secreted  them. 
But  the  confessions  of  which  we  have  spoken  led  to 
other  results  than  the  discovery  of  the  counterfeiters' 
paraphernalia.     Men  who  occupied  high  positions  in  so- 


ciety were  arrested.  Their  names  have  already  been 
given — Cooper,  Budd,  Haynes,  Reynolds  and  Ayers. 
The  last  was  of  Sussex,  and  was  tried  in  that  county. 
The  other  four  were  arraigned  in  the  old  court-house  at 
Morristown  on  the  19th  of  August  1773.  A  thousand 
people  were  thought  to  be  within  its  walls,  and  among 
them  all  scarcely  an  eye  could  be  found  which  did  not 
exhibit  some  tokens  of  sympathetic  sorrow.  Having 
pleaded  guilty,  the  sentence  was  now  to  be  pronounced 
upon  them,  viz.  that  upon  the  17th  of  September  follow- 
ing they  should  expiate  their  crime  upon  the  gallows. 
One  of  the  magistrates  before  whom  the  case  was  tried, 
was  father  of  one  of  the  culprits.  The  best  families  and 
society  in  the  county  had  representatives  in  the  number 
of  the  condemned.  But  the  sentence  thus  faithfully  pro- 
nounced was  not  to  be  as  faithfully  executed.  The  re- 
spectability of  the  culprits  and  their  influential  connec- 
tions were  made  to  bear  with  great  effect  upon  the  par- 
doning power.  The  day  fixed  for  their  execution  ar- 
rived, and  Reynolds,  who  seems  to  have  been  really  the 
least  guilty  of  the  lot,  but  who  alone  unfortunately  for 
himself  had  no  influential  friends,  suffered  the  ignomini- 
ous death  to  which  he  had  been  sentenced;  while  the 
other  three  were  remanded,  and  finally  in  December, 
after  a  number  of  respites,  Governor  Franklin  gave  them 
a  full  pardon. 

Dr.  Budd  continued  to  live  in  Morristown  until  his 
death,  from  putrid  fever,  December  14th  1777,  at  the 
age  of  thirty-nine.  So  great  was  his  reputed  skill  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  that  he  still  found  many  ready 
to  employ  him.  One  of  his  patients,  a  very  inquisitive 
woman,  the  first  time  she  had  occasion  for  his  services 
after  his  pardon,  asked  him  very  naively  "  how  he  kind 
of  felt  when  he  came  so  near  being  hanged."  His  answer 
is  not  recorded. 

This  "  money-making  scheme  "  of  Ford  and  his  com- 
panions has  a  wider  than  local  interest  from  its  con- 
nection with  the  robbery  of  the  treasury  of  East  Jersey 
at  Perth  Amboy,  on  the  night  of  the  21st  of  July  1768,' 
in  which  ^^6,570  9s.  4d.  in  coin  and  bills  were  stolen. 
Cooper,  Haynes  and  Budd,  under  sentence  of  death  for 
counterfeiting,  as  above  narrated,  made  confessions 
which  pointed  to  Ford  as  the  planner  and  prime  mover 
of  this  bold  and  successful  villainy,  the  first  of  whom 
admitted  having  received  ^300  of  the  stolen  money. 
Ford  strenuously  denied  the  charge;  but  his  denial  could 
scarcely  counterbalance  the  confessions  just  noticed.  He 
was  never  tried  for  the  crime,  having  fled,  as  already  seen, 

beyond  the  reach  of  the  law  before  the  confessions  were 
made. 

The  career  of  this  bad  man  is  the  one  foul  blot  upon 
our  local  history,  bringing  disgrace  to  the  town,  and  sor- 
row of  heart  to  the  estimable  family  of  which  he  was  a 
most  unworthy  representative. 

THE     REVOLUTIONARY    WAR. 

PATRIOTS    OF    MORRIS    COUNTY. 

The  period  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution  forms  a  chapter 
by  itself  in  the  local  history  of  Morristown,  a  chapter  to 


MORRISTOWN  PATRIOTS  IN   1775. 


113 


which  the  leading  historians  of  those  eventful  years  have 
paid  too  little  attention.  This  neglect  will  justify  a 
somewhat  full  account  of  this  memorable  period.  Rev. 
Samuel  L.  Tuttle,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of 
Madison  from  1854  to  1862,  and  Rev.  Joseph  F.  Tuttle, 
D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Rockaway 
from  1848  to  1862,  and  since  that  time  president  of 
Wabash  College,  Crawfordsville,  Ind.,  have  done  much 
to  preserve  the  revolutionary  history  of  this  region. 
Valuable  articles  from  their  pens  upon  this  subject  may 
be  found  in  The  Historical  Magazine,  published  at  Mor- 
risania,  N.  Y.,  by  Henry  B.  Dawson,  in  the  numbers  for 
March,  May  and  June  1871.  To  these  articles  we  are 
largely  indebted  in  the  preparation  of  this  sketch. 

When  the  war  of  the  Revolution  began  the  village  of 
Morristown  numbered,  it  is  said,  about  250  inhabitants, 
while  in  the  redion  about  was  a  thriving  and  somewhat 
populous  farming  community.  From  the  rolls  of  the 
church,  which  good  Pastor  Johnes  so  carefully  kept,  and 
from  the  records  of  the  court,  we  are  able  to  determine 
pretty  fully  these  early  names.  Colonel  Jacob  Ford  sen., 
Colonel  Jacob  Ford  jr.,  Dr.  Jabez  Campfield,  Major  Jo- 
seph Lindsley,  Jacob  Johnson,  Silas  Condict,  Rev. 
Timothy  Johnes  and  John  Doughty  were  among  the 
leading  citizens,  while  the  names  of  Prudden,  Pierson, 
Fairchild,  Freeman,  Howell,  Allen,  Day,  Dickerson, 
King,  Wood,  Lum,  Cutler,  Beach,  Tichenor,  Hathaway, 
Frost,  Blatchley,  Crane,  Coe,  Munson,  etc.,  are  of  fre- 
quent occurrence. 

The  Hathaway  and  Johnes  families  owned  and  oc- 
cupied property  to  the  north  of  the  town,  the  Ford  fam- 
ily to  the  east.  General  John  Doughty  to  the  south,  and 
Silas  Condict  and  his  brothers  to  the  west.  Colonel 
Jacob  Arnold,  of  "  Light  Horse  "  fame,  was  keeping  tav- 
ern on  the  west  side  of  the  park,  in  the  building  now 
owned  by  P.  H.  Hoffman;  while  Colonel  Jacob  Ford 
had  just  built  the  mansion  in  which  Washington  passed 
a  winter,  and  which  is  now  known  as  the  "  Head- 
quarters." 

The  financial  condition  of  the  people  at  that  time  was 
far  from  prosperous,  but  they  were  none  the  less  zealous 
in  their  attachment  to  the  cause  of  freedom  and  desire 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  While  the  great  mass  of 
the  inhabitants  were  Whigs,  there  were  nevertheless  a 
few  tories.  An  amusing  incident  is  told  of  "an  English 
immigrant,"  residing  in  Hanover,  "  a  man  of  considerable 
property  and  not  a  little  hauteur,  who  had  drunk  deeply 
into  toryisra,"  who  held  "  many  an  ardent  controversy  " 
with  "  Parson  Green  "  on  the  subject  of  American  inde- 
pendence. Ashbel  Green,  the  parson's  son,  heard  the 
talk  and  afterward  saw  this  tory  standing  up  in  the  church 
on  a  Sunday,  while  the  minister  read  his  confession  of 
the  sin  of  toryism;  being  earnestly  moved  thereto  by  the 
rumor  that  some  of  the  hot  bloods  of  Morristown  had 
threatened  him  with  a  coat  of  tar  and  feathers.  This 
was  in  the  forenoon;  in  the  afternoon  the  culprit  rode 
rapidly  to  the  said  "  neighboring  town  "  to  get  Dr.  Johnes 
to  read  for  him  the  same  confession  there,  which  the 
doctor  at  last  convinced  him   was   unnecessary.      The 


courts  were  less  forbearing  to  tories,  from  the  records  of 
which  it  appears  they  had  either  to  "  repent  or  perish." 

On  the  nth  of  January  1775  the  Legislature  met  at 
Perth  Amboy.  The  representatives  from  Morris  county 
were  Jacob  Ford  and  William  Winds.  It  is  quite 
evident  from  the  proceedings  that  the  Assembly  and  the 
governor  were  by  no  means  in  accord.  In  fact  their 
views  were  as  wide  apart  as  the  poles.  Cortland  Skinner, 
of  Perth  Amboy,  was  speaker.  On  the  13th  of  January 
the  governor  addressed  the  Assembly;  his  speech  was 
short,  but  was  pointed  and  filled  with  suggestive  warn- 
ings of  the  fatal  consequences  of  treason.  The  speech 
was  read  twice  after  its  delivery  and  then  "'committed" 
to  a  committee  of  the  whole  house.  Before  this  action  a 
"  committee  of  grievances,"  consisting  of  ten  members, 
was  appointed,  Jacob  Ford,  from  Morris  county,  being  a 
member.  This  committee  or  any  three  of  them  were 
authorized  to  meet  at  such  times  and  places  as  they 
might  think  proper  to  appoint,  either  during  the  sitting 
of  the  Assembly  or  at  any  other  time.  The  address  of 
the  governor  had  given  the  Assembly  much  trouble,  as 
that  body  in  a  committee  of  the  whole  house  had  spent 
several  days  considering  it  and  in  preparation  of  a  reply. 
In  his  rejoinder  the  governor  declined  further,  argument. 
The  following  resolution,  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the 
county  committee  of  observation  held  in  Hanover,  Feb- 
ruary 15th  1775,  's  but  the  prelude  to  the  drama  of  sacri- 
fice and  suffering  so  soon  to  be  enacted: 

^^  Resolved  unanimously,  that  this  committee  will,  after 
the  first  day  of  March  next,  esteem  it  a  violation  of  the 
seventh  article  of  said  association  if  any  person  or  per- 
sons should  kill  any  sheep  until  it  is  four  years  old,  or 
sell  any  such  sheep  to  any  person  who  he  or  they  may 
have  cause  to  suspect  will  kill  them  or  carry  them  to 
market;  and  further  that  they  will  esteem  it  a  breach  of 
said  article  if  any  inhabitant  of  this  township  should  sell 
any  sheep  of  any  kind  whatsoever  to  any  person  dwelling 
out  of  this  county,  or  to  any  person  who  they  may  have 
cause  to  suspect  will  carry  them  out  of  this  county,  with- 
out leave  first  obtained  of  this  committee." 

No  toothsome  lamb  to  tickle  the  palates  of  these  stout- 
hearted patriots,  while  the  wool  from  the  backs  of  the 
live  animals  was  needed  to  make  the  necessary  garments 
for  themselves  and  their  families.  No  woolen  fabrics 
for  them  from  the  looms  and  factories  of  their  oppressors, 
while  they  could  shear  and  children  could  pick  and  wives 
and  daughters  could  card  and  spin  and  weave  the  wool 
of  the  native  sheep  into  cloth.  No  linen  or  cordage  from 
across  the  water  if  they  could  raise  hemp  and  flax.  The 
same  committee  at  the  same  meeting  also  provided  pro- 
tection of  a  certain  sort  for  the  consumer  of  domestic 
manufactures.  While  they  urged  the  care  and  growth  of 
fabrics  for  home  consumption  and  placed  the  tariff  of 
public  opinion  most  strongly  on  the  wares  of  their  great 
enemy,  they  protected  the  consumer  from  exorbitant 
prices.  So  they  resolved  that  "  if  any  manufacturer  of 
any  article  made  for  home  consumption  or  any  vender  of 
goods  or  merchandise  in  this  township  shall  take  advan- 
tage of  the  necessities  of  his  country,  by  selling  at  an 
unusual  price,  such  person  shall  be  considered  an  enemy 
to  his  country;  and  do  recommend  it  to  the  inhabitants 


114 


HISTORY  OF  kORRtS  COUNTV. 


of  this  township  to  remember  that  after  the  ist  of  March 
next  no  East  India  tea  is  to  be  used  in  any  case  whatso- 
ever." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  one  of  the  most  enterpris- 
ing of  Morristown's  "  leading  citizens  "  was  Colonel  Jacob 
Ford.  The  past  and  present  prominence  of  the  Ford 
family  in  local  history  warrants  the  insertion  of  the  fol- 
lowing genealogical  note.  In  the  diary  of  the  late  Hon. 
Gabriel  H.  Ford,  son  of  Colonel  Jacob  Ford  jr.,  was 
found  the  following  entry: 

Thursday,  22sf  Jicne  1849. — ^  census  was  taken  in  the 
years  177T  and  1772  in  the  British  provinces  of  America, 
and  deposited,  after  the  Revolution,  as  public  archives, 
at  Washington;  but  their  room  becoming  much  wanted, 
those  of  each  province  were  delivered  to  the  members  of 
Congress  from  it,  to  cull  what  they  chose,  preparatory  to 
a  burning  of  the  rest.  General  Mahlon  Dickerson,  then 
a  member  from  New  Jersey,  selected  some  from  the 
county  of  Morris,  and  sent  rae  yesterday  a  copy  verbatim 
of  one  entry,  as  follows;  "Widow  Elizabeth  Lindsley, 
mother  of  Colonel  Jacob  Ford,  was  born  in  the  city  of 
Axford,  in  old  England;  came  into  Philadelphia  when 
there  was  but  one  house  in  it;  and  into  this  province 
when  she  was  but  one  year  and  a  half  old.  Deceased  April 
2rst  1772,  aged  91  years  and  one  month."  I  always  un- 
derstood in  the  family  by  tradition  from  her  (whose  short 
stature  and  slender,  bent  person,  I  clearly  recall,  having 
lived  in  the  same  house  with  her  and  with  my  parents,  in 
my  grandfather's  family,  at  her  death  and  before  it)  that 
her  father  fled  from  England  when  there  was  a  universal 
dread  of  returning  popery  and  persecution,  three  years 
before  the  death  of  Charles  the  Second,  A.  D.  1682,  and 
two  years  before  the  accession  of  James  the  Second,  in 
1684;  that  while  landing  his  goods  at  Philadelphia  he 
fell  from  a  plank  into  the  Delaware  river  and  was 
drowned  between  the  ship  and  the  shore,  leaving  a 
family  of  young  children  in  the  wilderness.  That 
she  had  several  children  by  her  first  husband,  whose 
name  was  Ford,  but  none  by  her  second  husband, 
whose  name  was  Lindsley;  at  whose  death  she  was  taken 
into  the  family  of  her  son,  Colonel  Jacob  Ford  sen.,  and 
treated  with  filial  tenderness  the  remaining  years  of  her 
life,  which  were  many.  I  am  in  the  85th  year  (since  Jan- 
uary last)  of  my  age,  being  born  in  1765,  and  was  7  years 
old  at  her  death. 

Her  son.  Colonel  Jacob  Ford  sen.,  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  one  of  the  judges  of  "  the  inferior  court  of  common 
pleas  for  Morris  county"  in  1740,  and  for  many  years 
thereafter  he  appears  to  have  delivered  the  charges  to 
the  grand  jury,  and  was  not  infrequently  a  member  of 
the  lower  house  in  the  Provincial  Assembly.  His  second 
son  and  namesake  was  not  less  prominent  than  his  hon- 
ored father.  Though  a  young  man  he  had  been  previous 
to  the  war  intrusted  with  difficult  missions  by  the  State, 
which  he  had  faithfully  executed.  But  his  name  comes 
into  special  prominence  as  the  builder  of  an  important 
powder-mill,  on  the  Whippany  River,  near  Morristown, 
the  exact  location  of  which  we  regret  we  have  been  un- 
able to  ascertain.  Early  in  the  year  1776,  as  may  be 
gathered  from  the  Boteler  papers  in  the  New  Jersey  his- 
torical library,  he  "  offered  to  erect  a  powder-mill  in  the 
county  of  Morris,  for  the  making  of  gunpowder,  an  article 
so  essential  at  the  present  time  ";  and  the  Provincial 
Congress  agreed  to  lend  him  ;^2,ooo  of  the  public  money 
for  one  year,  without  interest,  on  his  giving  "  satisfactory 


security  for  the  same  to  be  repaid  within  the  time  of  one 
year  in  good  merchantable  powder  ";  the  first  installment 
"  of  one  ton  of  good  merchantable  powder  "  to  be  paid 
"  on  first  of  July  next,  and  one  ton  per  month  thereafter 
till  the  sum  of  ^2,000  be  paid."  This  "  good  merchant- 
able powder  "  did  excellent  service  in  many  a  battle 
thereafter,  and  wasone  of  the  main  reasons  of  the  re- 
peated but  fruitless  attempts  of  the  enemy  to  reach  Mor- 
ristown. That  the  brilliant  services  of  Colonel  Ford 
were  appreciated  at  the  time  may  be  seen  by  reference  to 
the  American  Archives,  Vol.  III.,  1,259,  1,278  and  r,4ig. 

Such  an  attempt  was  made  but  a  few  months  after  the 
powder-mill  was  put  into  operation.  But  the  man  who 
was  capable  of  making  "  good  merchantable  powder  " 
was  capable  of  using  it  and  thus  defending  his  invaluable 
mill.  On  the  fourteenth  of  December  1776  the  enemy 
reached  Springfield,  where  they  were  met  by  Colonel 
Ford's  militia,  numbering  seven  hundred,  with  such 
spirit  that  they  were  glad  to  relinquish  their  design  of 
reaching  Morristown,  and  retreat  the  next  day,  under 
General  Leslie,  "  toward  Spank-Town."  On  the  13th  of 
the  same  month,  the  day  before  the  engagement  at 
Springfield,  a  company  of  British  dragoons  had  pene- 
trated as  far  as  Basking  Ridge,  where  they  captured  Gen- 
eral Charles  Lee. 

These  incidents  lead  to  a  correction  of  the  prevalent 
mistake  that  no  portion  of  the  American  army  was 
in  camp  in  this  vicinity  until  after  the  battle  of  Prince- 
ton. On  the  20th  of  December  1776  Washington  wrote 
to  the  president  of  Congress  that  he  had  "  directed  the 
three  regiments  from  Ticonderoga  to  halt  at  Morristown, 
in  Jersey  (where  I  understand  about  eight  hundred  militia 
had  collected),  in  order  to  inspirit  the  inhabitants,  and, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  cover  that  part  of  the  country." 
These  were  "  eastern  regiments,"  and  were  led  hither 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Vose.  They  were: 
"  Greaton's  regiment,  about  250  men;  Bond's  do.,  100; 
Porter's  do.,  170;  in  all  520  men."  In  a  letterof  General 
McDougall  to  Washington,  bearing  date  December  19th 
1776,  he  says  he  came  to  Morristown  the  day  after  Gen- 
eral Lee  was  captured  at  Basking  Ridge,  and  that  Vose 
arrived  at  Morristown  "  day  before  yesterday,"  which 
was  therefore  the  17th  of  December.  General  Washing- 
ton did  not  reach  Morristown  until  the  7th  of  the  follow- 
ing month.  The  importance  of  Colonel  Ford's  powder- 
mill  in  the  estimation  of  both  friend  and  foe  was  doubt- 
less the  main  reason  why  Washington  ordered  these 
eastern  regiments  to  remain  in  Morristown  at  a  time 
when  he  so  greatly  needed  them.  The  absence  of  a  Morris 
county  regiment  in  the- north,  who  were  in  the  regular 
service  under  the  command  of  Colonel  William  Winds,  it 
should  be  said,  had  largely  diminished  the  local  means  of 
defense,  and  rendered  necessary  the  presence  of  these 
eastern  regiments.  Colonel  Ford's  militia  doubtless  re- 
mained under  arms  until  the- arrival  of  Washington.  On 
the  22nd  of  December  he  led  them  home  from  Chatham, 
where  they  had  remained  to  watch  the  movements  of 
the  enemy.  On  the  31st  of  the  same  month  they  were 
on  parade,  only  a  week  before  the  arrival  of  Morristown's, 


WASHINGTON  AT  ARNOLD'S— THE  SMALLPOX  HOSPITALS. 


IIS 


greater  guest.    It  is  not  probable  that  they  had  disbanded 
before  that  time. 

Washington's  first  winter  in  morristown. 

Washington  reached  Morristown  January  7th  1777. 
The  memorable  campaign  which  had  just  closed;  the  re- 
treat through  New  Jersey,  known  as  "the  mud  rounds;" 
the  brilliant  victories  of  Trenton  and  Princeton,  need  not 
be  here  related.  On  the  4th  of  January  the  battle  of 
Princeton  was'  fought,  and  three  days  afterward  the 
American  army  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Morristown 
and  vicinity...  Washington  himself  located  at  the  Arnold 
tavern.  This  historic  building  is  still  standing,  though 
considerably  altered  since  it  sheltered  its  illustrious 
guest.  It  is  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  Green,  or 
what  is  now  called  Park  place,  and  is  occupied  on  the 
first  floor  by  the  grocery  store  of  Adams  &  Fairchild,  the 
clothing  store  of  P.  H.  Hoffman  and  jewelry  store  of  F. 
J.  Crowell,  At  that  time  it  was  a  two-storied  house. 
The  first  floor  was  divided  into  four  rooms,  with  a  hall 
running  through  the  center  from  front  to  rear.  Wash- 
ington, according  to  Mr.  Tuttle,  occupied  the  two  rooms 
on  the  south  side,  where  is  now  the  grocery  store,  using 
the  front  room  as  a  general  office  and  sitting  room  and 
the  back  for  a  sleeping  apartment. 

The  present  owner  of  the  building,  P.  H.  Hoffman, 
says  Washington  slept  in  the  front  room  over  his  store; 
where  the  grocery  store  is  was  only  one  room — the  par- 
lor. The  hall  through  which  the  great  man  was  wont  to 
pass  was  recently  fitted  up  as  a  store,  and  is  now  occu- 
pied by  the  jeweler  above  mentioned.  Among  the  tradi- 
tions concerning  the  occupancy  of  this  house  by  Wash- 
ington is  one  that  he  was  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of 
freemasonry  in  this  building,  though  some  accounts  say 
it  was  in  a  different  building  but  occurred  while  his 
headquarters  were  in  this  one.  This  tradition  will,  how- 
ever, appear  further  on  to  have  no  foundation  in  fact. 

Those  were  dark  days  for  Washington  and  his  fellow 
patriots.  He  had  scarcely  settled  in  his  new  quarters 
before  trouble  began.  Four  days  after  his  arrival  he  was 
called  to  mourn  the  loss  of  the  brave  and  noble  Colonel 
Jacob  Ford  jr.  On  the  parade  of  the  31st  of  December, 
to  which  reference  has  already  been  made.  Colonel  Ford 
was  seized  "  with  a  delirium  in  his  head  and  was  borne 
off  by  a  couple  of  soldiers,  after  which  he  never  rose 
from  his  bed."  He  died  January  nth  1777,  at  the  early 
age  of  nearly  thirty-nine  years,  being  born  February  rgth 

1738. 

Thus  died,  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness  and  in  the 
vigor  of  his  manhood,  one  of  the  most  promising  and 
brilliant  men  whom  Morristown  and  Morris  county  ever 
produced.  On  January  27th  1762  he  married  Theodo- 
cia,  daughter  of  Rev.  Timothy  Johnes,  who  afterward 
became  the  hostess  of  Washington  in  his  second  winter 
at  Morristown,  in  the  house  now  celebrated  as  the 
"  Headquarters."  Colonel  Ford  was  buried,  by  the  order 
of  Washington,  with  the  honors  of  war.  On  the  igth  of 
the  same  month  his  father.  Colonel  Jacob  Ford  sen.,  died 
of  fever,  at  the  age  of  73,  being  born  April  13th  1704. 


Death  made  fearful  inroads  that  memorable  winter, 
both  in  the  army  and  among  the  citizens.  On  the  nth 
of  January  1777,  the  same  day  the  younger  Ford  died* 
the  death  of  Martha,  widow  of  Joshua  Ball,  from  small- 
pox, is  recorded,  the  sad  forerunner  of  the  darkest  year 
this  community  ever  saw.  There  were  two  more  deaths 
during  the  month  from  the  same  disease;  and  then  the 
roll  rapidly  increased  until  in  that  one  year  it  had  reached 
68  deaths  from  smallpox.  No  age  or  condition  was 
spared.  The  infant,  the  mother,  the  father,  the  youth,  the 
aged,  the  bond,  the  free,  were  reckoned  among  its  victims. 

But  smallpox  was  not  the  only  disease  working  havoc 
in  that  dread  year.  Putrid  sore  throat,  dysentery,  and 
other  maladies  swelled  the  death  roll  of  the  parish  to  the 
astounding  number  of  205,  exclusive  of  all  who  died  in 
the  army. 

"An  establishment,"  says  Sparks,  "  for  inoculation  was 
provided  near  Morristown  for  the  troops  in  camp;  one 
at  Philadelphia  for  those  coming  from  the  south,  another 
in  Connecticut,  another  in  Providence."  Rev.  Samuel 
L.  Tuttle,  in  his  "  Sketch  of  Bottle  Hill  during  the  Rev- 
olution "  [Historical  Magazine),  however,  has  clearly 
shown  that  this  was  not  "  an  establishment,"  but  a  series 
of  inoculating  hospitals  in  the  towns  of  Morris  and  Han- 
over. From  him  we  learn  that  one  of  these  hospitals 
was  the  house  which  stood  at  that  time  on  the  farm  of 
the  late  John  Ogden,  about  two  miles  south  of  Morris- 
town. The  house  was  -then  owned  and  occupied  by 
Elijah  Pierson,  and  for  several  months  it  was  continually 
filled  with  both  soldiers  and  citizens,  who  repaired 
thither  in  order  to  guard  themselves,  by  inoculation, 
against  the  smallpox.  "  I  have  been  informed,"  says 
Mr.  Tuttle,  "  by  some  of  the  Brookfield  family,  residing 
but  a  little  distance  from  the  Lowantica  camp  ground, 
that  they  received  it  from  their  Revolutionary  ancestors, 
who  lived  and  died  on  the  ground,  that  during  the  same 
winter  there  was  a  small  encampment  on  the  hill  back  of 
the  Bonsall  mansion,  a  short  distance  north  of  the  place 
last  described  [Pierson's];  and  it  has  seemed  to  me  not 
improbable  that  there  was  an  arrangement  also  made  for 
inoculating  the  army." 

The  old  First  Presbyterian  and  Baptist  churches,  the 
predecessors  of  the  present  buildings,  were  not  exempt 
from  the  necessities  of  this  terrible  scourge.  They,  too, 
were  turned  into  smallpox  hospitals  for  soldiers.  Under 
date  of  September  i6th  1777,  when  the  plague  had  been 
stayed,  we  find  in  the  trustees' book  of  the  former  church 
the  following  minute: 

"Agreed  that  Mr.  Conklin,  Mr.  Tuthill,  Mr.  Lindsly 
&  Mr.  Stiles  or  any  two  of  them  wait  upon  some  of  the 
Docts.  of  the  Hospital  in  Morristown  &  apply  for  a 
resignation  of  the  meeting  house,  and  if  obtained  then  to 
apply  to  the  Commanding  Officer  at  this  post  to  remove 
the  troops  thence;  &  at  their  discretion  to  proceed  further 
in  cleansing  and  refitting  the  house  for  Public  Worship 
&  to  make  report  of  their  progress  in  the  premises  at  their 
next  meeting." 

It  would  appear  that  the  progress  made  in  the  premises 
was  not  altogether  satisfactory,  for  under  date  of  July 
13th  1778  appears  this  entry: 


ii6 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


"July  13th  1778  the  Trustees  met  at  Doer.  Tuthill's; 
present,  Mr.  Conklin,  Mr.  Tuthill,  Mr.  Stiles,  Mr.  Linds- 
ley,  Mr.  Mills  &  the  President;  agreed  that  Mr.  Tuthill, 
Mr.  Stiles  &  Mr.  Mills  be  a  committee  to  wait  on  Doct. 
Draper  &  inform  him  of  the  Law  of  this  State  Relative 
to  Billeting  of  Soldiers,  &  that  the  committee  or  either 
of  them  be  Impowered  to  prosecute  such  Person  or  Per- 
sons who  may  take  possession  of  the  meeting  house  or 
other  property  of  the  Trustees  contrary  to  the  said  Law, 
&  that  they  make  report  what  they  have  done  in  the 
premises  to  this  Board  at  their  next  meeting." 

As  the  army  left  here  in  May  1777  we  may  infer  from 
this  last  minute  that  the  church  was  retained  as  a  hospital 
for  those  incapacited  by  sickness  from  the  severities  of 
active  warfare.  If  this  be  so  the  pastor  and  people  were 
obliged  for  a  year  and  a  half  to  worship,  as  we  know 
they  did  a  part  of  the  time,  in  the  open  air. 

An  incident  of  special  interest  to  the  ivriter  of  this 
article  may  be  mentioned  in  this  connection.  He  has 
heard  his  mother  relate  the  old  stories  which  her  father, 
Nehemiah  Smith,  told  her  when  a  child  of  his  experience 
in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Although  she  does  not  re- 
member the  name  of  Morristown,  yet  these  stories  are  so 
circumstantial  as  to  leave  no  doubt  in  her  mind  that  he 
was  a  smallpox  patient  in  the  old  church  of  which  the 
writer  was  lately  the  pastor.  In  the  work  of  inoculation, 
to  which  the  people  seriously  objected,  Washington  was 
greatly  aided  by  the  influence  of  the  ministry,  especially 
of  Dr.  Johnes  and  Parson  Green. 

How  large  the  death  roll  in  the  army  was  cannot  now 
be  ascertained,  but  that  hundreds  were  swept  away  by 
the  plague  cannot  be  doubted. 

Disease,  however,  was  not  the  only  cause  of  anxiety  to 
the  guest  of  the  "  Arnold  tavern."  Very  soon  after 
reaching  here  he  wrote  the  following  letter,  which  reveals 
another  serious  source  of  alarm: 


"Headquarters,  Morristown,  January  31st  1777. 

"  The  great  countenance  and  protection  shown  and 
given  to  deserters  by  persons  in  the  different  neighbor- 
hoods from  whence  they  originally  came  has  made  that 
vice  so  prevalent  in  the  army  that,  unless  some  very  ef- 
fectual measures  are  fallen  upon  to  prevent  it,  our  new 
army  will  scarcely  be  raised  before  it  will  again  dwindle 
and  waste  away  from  that  cause  alone. 

"  I  know  of  no  remedy  so  effectual  as  for  the  different 
States  immediately  to  pass  laws  laying  a  very  severe  pen- 
alty upon  those  who  harbour  or  fail  to  give  information 
against  deserters,  knowing  them  to  be  such,  and  strictly 
enjoining  all  justices  of  the  peace  and  officers  of  the 
militia  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  over  and  apprehend  "all 
such  persons  as  shall  return  from  the  army  without  a 
discharge. 

"  In  order  that  this  most  salutary  measure  may  be  car- 
ried speedily  into  execution,  I  have  not  only  desired 
Congress  to  recommend  it  to  the  different  States,  but 
have  myself  wrote  circular  letters  to  them  all,  pressing 
their  compliance  with  my  request.  Desertion  must  cease 
of  course  when  the  offenders  find  they  have  no  shelter. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  gentlemen,  your  most  obe- 
dient servant.  Go.  Washington. 

"  To  the  Hon.  the  representatives  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey." 

Then,  too,  Washington  was  not  altogether  satisfied 
with  the  position  of  Morristown  as  a  place  for.  locating 


his  army.  On  reaching  here  he  writes:  "The  situation 
is  by  no  means  favorable  to  our  views,  and  as  soon  as  the 
purposes  are  answered  for  which  we  came  I  think  to  re- 
move, though  I  confess  I  do  not  know  how  we  shall  pro- 
cure covering  for  our  men  elsewhere,"  That  he  did  not 
soon  remove,  and  that  he  returned  here  for  another 
winter,  would  indicate  that  as  he  became  more  familiar 
with  the  topography  of  the  county  his  early  impression 
of  "  the  unfavorable  situation  "  was  changed. 

January  13th,  scarcely  a  week  after  his  arrival  here,  he 
wrote  two  letters  to  Lord  Howe,  on  the  subject  of  "  the 
barbarous  usage  "  our  soldiers  and  sailors  were  receiving 
in  New  York,  "  which  their  emaciated  countenances 
confirm."  "  Did  he  not  endeavor  to  obtain  a  redress  of 
their  grievances,"  he  writes  "  he  would  think  himself  as 
culpable  as  those  who  inflict  such   severities  upon  them." 

The  correspondence  which  passed  between  these  two 
distinguished  persons  during  the  winter  had  in  the  midst 
of  all  its  seriousness,  if  tradition  may  be  believed,  an  oc- 
casional vein  of  humor.  Howe  is  said  to  have  sent  to 
Washington,  at  one  time,  a  copy  of  Watts's  version  of 
the  one  hundred  and  twentieth  Psalm,  as  follows: 

"  Thou  God  of  love,  thou  ever  blest. 
Pity  my  suffering  state ; 
When  wilt  thou  set  my  soul  at  rest 
From  lips  that  love  deceit  ? 

"  Hard  lot  of  mine !  my  days  are  cast 
Among  the  sons  of  strife, 
"Whose  never  ceasing  brawlings  waste 
My  golden  hours  of  life. 

"  O !  might  I  change  my  place. 
How  would  I  choose  to  dwell 
In  some  wide,  lonesome  wilderness. 
And  leave  these  gates  of  hell !" 

To  this,  it  is  said,  Washington  returned  Watts's  version 
of  the  one  liundred  and  first  Psalm,  entitled  "  The 
Magistrate's  Psalm,"  containing  the  following  pointed 
verses: 


"  In  vain  shall  sinners  strive  to  rise 
By  flattering  and  malicious  lies ; 
And  while  the  innocent  I  guard 
The'bold  offender  sba'nt  he  spared. 

"  The  impious  crew,  that  factious  liand. 
Shall  hide  their  heads,  or  quit  the  land ; 
And  all  who  break  the  public  rest. 
Where  I  have  power,  shall  be  supprest." 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  F.  Tuttle  states  that  he  received  the  above 
tradition  from  two  entirely  distinct  sources. 

Still  another  trouble  weighed  heavily  upon  the  anxious 
heart  of  Washington.  The  term  of  enlistment  of  many 
of  his  troops  was  about  to  expire;  and  most  earnest  let- 
ters were  sent  "  to  the  council  of  safety,''  '"  to  the  presi- 
dent of  Congress,"  "  to  the  governors  of  the  thirteen 
States,"  calling  for  more  men  and  munitions.  On  the 
26th  of  January  he  wrote:  "  Reinforcements  come  up  so 
extremely  slow  that  I  am  afraid  I  shall  be  left  without 
any  men  before  they  arrive.  The  enemy  must  be  igno- 
rant of  our  numbers,  or  they  have  not  horses  to  move 
their  artillery,  or  they  would  not  suffer  us  to  remain  un- 
disturbed." 

One  of  the  members  of  "  the  council  of  safety  "  was 
Silas  Condict,  of  this  town.  The  following  letter  of  his 
is  not  without  interest: 


TORY  SPIES  AT  MORRISTOWN— GAMBLING  IN  CAMP. 


T17 


"  MoRRiSTOWN,  April  7th  1777. 

"  Dear  Sir, — This  day  I  received  your  favor  of  the  23d 
ult.,  wherein  you  acquaint  me  that  I  have  been  appointed 
one  of  the  council  of  safety.  I  am  much  concerned  that 
you  have  so  few  members  attending  at  this  critical  season; 
and,  although  it  is  extremely  difficult  at  present  for  me 
to  leave  home  (my  family  being  inoculated  and  not  yet 
through  the  smallpox),  yet  I  will  come  at  any  time 
rather  than  public  business  should  suffer,  on  notice  being 
given  me  that  it  is  necessary.  Colonel  De  Hart  told  me 
to-day  that  the  battalion  had  arranged  its  officers,  and 
only  wanted  an  opportunity  to  present  it  for  commission. 
The  colonel  says  that  he  has  at  General  Washington's  re- 
quest examined  several  of  the  prisoners  now  in  jail  here, 
and  that  it  will  be  best  for  the  council  of  safety  to  sit  in 
this  county  soon;  and  if  this  is  thought  proper  I  think  it 
will  be  best  to  sit  either  at  Mendham  or  at  Captain 
Dunn's,  in  Roxbury,  as  the  army  is  still  at  Morristown, 
and  it  will  be  inconvenient  to  sit  there. 

"  I   am,  with   great   respect,  your  most   obedient  and 
humble  servant, 

"  Silas  Condict. 

"  His  Excellency  Gov.  Livingston." 

The  jail,  as  Mr.  Condict's  letter  informs  us,  was  full  of 
prisoners.  These  were  spies,  tories,  and  dangerous  char- 
acters. The  i)resence  of  such  persons  was  another 
source  of  annoyance  and  anxiety.  But  their  cunning  was 
not  always  successful.  Dr.  Tuttle  relates  an  anecdote 
which  he  had  from  G.  P.  McCulloch,  who  heard  it  from 
General  Doughty,  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  residing  in 
Morristown.  A  certain  man  was  employed  by  Washing- 
ton af  a  spy,  to  gain  information  concerning  the  enemy, 
but  it  was  suspected  that  he  carried  the  enemy  more 
news  than  he  brought  to  those  in  whose  employ  he  was. 
General  Greene,  who  acted  as  quartermaster-general,  oc- 
cupied a  small  office  on  the  southeast  corner  of  the  Green, 
where  the  drug  store  of  Geiger  &  Smith  now  is.  One 
day  Colonel  Hamilton  was  in  this  office  when  the  sus- 
pected spy  made  his  appearance.  The  colonel  had  pre- 
pared what  purported  to  be  a  careful  statement  of  the 
condition  of  the  army,  both  as  to  numbers  and  munitions, 
making  the  numbers  much  more  flattering  than  the  actual 
facts.  Leaving  this  statement  on  the  table,  apparently 
by  mistake.  Colonel  Hamilton  left  the  office,  saying  he 
would  return  in  a  few  minutes.  The  spy  instantly 
seized  the  paper  as  a  very  authentic  document,  and  left 
with  it  for  parts  unknown.  It  was  supposed  that  this 
trick  did  much  to  preserve  the  army  from  attack  that 

winter. 

Still  another  source  of  trouble  is  apparent  from   the 

following  "  general  order:" 

"  Headquarters,  Morristown,  8th  May  1777. 
"  As  few  vices  are  attended  with  more  pernicious  con- 
sequences than  gaming — which  often  brings  disgrace  and 
ruin  upon  officers,  and  injury  and  punishment  upon  the 
soldiery — and  reports  prevailing  (which  it  is  to  be  feared 
are  too  well  founded)  that  this  destructive  vice  has 
spread  its  baleful  influence  in  the  army,  and  in  a  peculiar 
manner  to  the  prejudice  of  the  recruiting  service,  the 
■commander-in-chief,  in  the  most  pointed  and  explicit 
terms,  forbids  all  officers  and  soldiers  playing  at  cards, 
dice,  or  at  any  games  except  those  of  exercise,  for  diver- 
sion; it  being  impossible,  if  the  practice  be  allowed  at  all, 
to  d'iscriminate  between  innocent  play  for  amusement 
and  criminal  gaming  for  pecuniary  and  sordid  purposes. 


"  Officers  attentive  to  their  duty  will  find  abundant 
employment  in  training  and  disciplining  their  men,  pro- 
viding for  them,  and  seeing  that  they  appear  neat,  clean 
and  soldierlike.  Nor  will  anything  redound  more  to  their 
honor,  afford  them  more  solid  amusement,  or  better  answer 
the  end  of  their  appointment,  than  to  devote  the  vacant 
moments  they  may  have  to  the  study  of  military  authors. 

"  The  commanding  officer  of  every  corps  is  strictly  en- 
joined to  have  this  order  frequently  read  and  strongly 
impressed  upon  the  minds  of  those  under  his  command. 
Any  officer  or  soldier,  or  other  persons  belonging  to 
or  following  the  army— either  in  camp,  in  quarters,  on 
the  recruiting  service,  or  elsewhere— presuming,  under 
any  pretence,  to  disobey  this  order,  shall  be  tried  by  a 
general  court  martial.  The  general  officers  in  each 
division  of  the  army  are  to  pay  the  strictest  attention  to 
the  due  exercise  thereof. 

"The  adjutant-general  is  to  transmit  copies  of  this 
order  to  the  diff'erent  departments  of  the  army.  _  Also, 
to  execute  the  same  to  be  immediately  published  in  the 
gazettes  of  each  State,  for  the  information  of  officers  dis- 
persed on  the  recruiting  service. 

"  By  his  Excellency's  command, 

"  Morgan  Connor,  Adj.  pro  tem." 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  under  all  these  depress- 
ing circumstances  the  troubled  heart  of  Washington 
turned  for  support  and  comfort  to  the  God  of  all  strength, 
to  the  God  of  nations  and  of  battles.  We  are  not  sur- 
prised, therefore,  that  as  the  time  of  the  communion 
drew  near,  which  was  then  observed  semi-annually, 
Washington  sought  good  Pastor  Johnes,  and  inquired 
of  him  if  membership  with  the  Presbyterian  church  was 
required  "as  a  term  of  admission  to  the  ordinance." 
The  doctor's  reply  was,  "Ours  is  npt  the  Presbyterian 
table,  but  the  Lord's  table,  and  we  hence  give  the  Lord's 
invitation  to  all  his  followers,  of  whatever  name."  This 
pleased  and  satisfied  the  general,  and  on  the  coming  Sab- 
bath, in  the  cold  air,  he  was  present  with  the  congrega- 
tion assembled  in  the  orchard  in  the  rear  of  the  parson- 
age, the  house  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  Eugene  Ayers,  on 
Morris  street;  and  in  the  natural  basin  still  found  there 
he  sat  down  at  the  table  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  remem- 
brance of  redeeming  love  obtained  no  doubt  relief  from 
the  scenes  that  appalled  and  the  cares  that  oppressed  him. 
The  common  opinion  is  that  the  Lord's  Supper  was  ad- 
ministered in  the  church.  This  is  so  stated  in  Sparks's 
life  of  Washington  and  by  other  writers,  but  the  true 
version  is  as  already  given.  The  church  was  occupied 
by  invalid  troops  till  the  close  of  the  year  1777,  if  not  till 
some  time  in  1778,  as  the  records  of  the  trustees  show. 
This  was  the  only  time  after  his  entrance  upon  his  public 
career  that  Washington  is  certainly  known  to  have  par- 
taken of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

(For  the  proof  of  this  interesting  historical  incidenl 
the  reader  is  referred  to  The  Record  ior  ]m\t  a.x\A  Kn- 
gust  1880.) 

Washington  was  a  frequent  attendant  upon  these  open- 
air  meetings.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  according  to 
an  account  handed  down  by  Doctor  Johnes,  Washington 
was  sitting  in  his  camp  chair,  brought  in  for  the  occasion. 
During  the  service  a  woman  came  into  the  congregation 
with  a  child  in  her  arms;  Washington  arose  from  his 
chair  and  gave  it  to  the  woman  with  the  child. 


ii8 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


The  Rev.  O.  L.  Kirtland,  a  former  pastor  in  this  town, 
in  a  letter  to  the  Fi-esbyterian  Magazine,  and  copied  in 
The  Record  ior  '^nne  1880,  relates  the  following,  which 
not  only  reveals  the  terrible  trials  of  that  winter,  but  the 
character  of  Washington,  and  the  great  secret  of  his 
power  over  the  army: 

"  Soon  after  I  came  to  Morristown,  in  1837  I  think,  I 
visit'ed  ray  native  place,  and  met  there  an  old  man, 
bowed  down  with  a^e,  leaning  tremblingly  upon  the  top 
of  his  staff.  His  name  was  Cook.  In  my  early  child- 
hood he  had  been  the  physician  in  my  father's  family. 
As  the  old  man  met  me,  he  said,  '  You  are  located  in 
Morristown,  are  you  ?'  '  Yes,  sir.'  '  I  was  there  too,' 
said  the  doctor,  once;  '  I  was  under  Washington  in  the 
army  of  the  Revolution.  It  was  hard  times  then — hard 
times.  There  was  a  time  when  all  our  rations  were  but  a 
single  gill  of  wheat  a  day.  Washington  used  to  come 
round  and  look  into  our  tents,  and  he  looked  so  kind, 
and  he  said  so  tenderly,  '  Men,  can  you  bear  it  ?'  '  Yes, 
general,  yes,  we  can,'  was  the  reply;  'if  you  wish  us  to 
act,  give  us  the  word,  and  we  are  ready.'  " 

Tradition  relates  that  Washington  amidst  all  his  other 
troubles  during  that  dreadful  winter  was  not  himself  ex- 
empt from  the  hand  of  disease.  He  had,  it  is  said,  a 
dangerous  attack  of  quinsy  sore  throat,  so  that  his  friends 
felt  serious  apprehensions  about  his  recovery.  In  this 
fear  they  asked  him  to  indicate  the  man  best  fitted  to 
succeed  him  in  the  command  of  the  army,  and  without 
hesitation  he  pointed  to  General  Nathaniel  Greene. 

Thus'  that  ever- memorable  season  wore  away.  The 
homes  of  our  citizens  vvere  filled  with  the  soldiers  billeted 
upon  them,  and  for  whom  they  had  to  provide.  Suffer- 
ing, deprivation,  disease  and  death  were  upon  every 
hand.  Never  were  these  combinations  of  evils  better 
calculated  to  undermine  the  courage  of  all  concerned  in 
the  struggle;  and  yet  their  faith  in  God  never  failed. 
Washington  was  not  an  unmoved  spectator  of  the  griefs 
about  him,  and  often  might  be  seen  in  Hanover  and 
Lowantica  Valley  cheering  the  faith  and  inspiring  the 
courage  of  his  suffering  men.  His  labors  were  very 
heavy  in  the  southeast  room  of  the  "Arnold  tavern:" 
urging  on  Congress  the  necessity  of  tendering  an  oath  of 
allegiance  to  all  the  inhabitants  and  outlawing  those  that 
refused  it;  now  advising  and  inspiring  his  generals — 
Benedict  Arnold  among  them,  but  too  base  to  be  elevated 
by  his  communion  with  the  great  spirit  of  the  age;  now 
hurrying  forward  the  enlistment  of  troops  and  the  col- 
lection of  munitions;  now  teaching  Lord  Howe  some 
lessons  in  humanity  by  the  law  of  retaliation;  "  although," 
says  he,  "I  shall  always  be  happy  to  manifest  my  disin- 
clination to  any  undue  severities  toward  those  whom  the 
fortune  of  war  may  chance  to  throw  into  my  hands." 
His  situation  is  extremely  trying,  for  on  the  2nd  of  March 
he  writes:  "  General  Howe  cannot  have  *  *  *  less 
than  ten  thousand  men  in  the  Jerseys.  *  *  *  Our 
number  does  not  exceed  four  thousand.  His  are  well 
disciplined,  well  officered  and  well  appointed;  ours  raw 
militia,  badly  officered  and  under  no  government."  The 
balance  sheet  thus  struck  seemed  to  be  against  him. 
But  then  Robert  Morris,  the  great  finaneier  of  the 
Revolution,    did   not    express   himself    too    strongly   in 


writing  that  very  winter  to  Washington:  "Heaven  no 
doubt  for  the  noblest  purposes  has  blessed  you  with  a 
firmness  of  mind,  steadiness  of  countenance,  and  patience 
in  sufferings,  that  give  you  infinite  advantages  over  other 
men." 

About  the  end  of  May  Washington  led  his  army  from 
Morristown  to  engage  in  the  campaign  of  1777,  made 
memorable  by  the  bloody  reverses  of  Chad's  Ford  and 
Germantown. 

Washington's  second  winter  at  morristown. 

We  pass  over  fhe  intervening  time  between  Washing- 
ton's leaving  Morristown  in  May  1777  and  his  return  to 
it  in  December  1779.  The  duty  of  selecting  the  winter 
quarters  in  the  latter  year  had  been  committed  to  General 
Greene,  who  had  reported  two  places  to  the  commander- 
in-chief,  the  one  at  Aquackanock,  the  other  within  four 
miles  of  Morristown.  Greene  preferred  the  former,  but 
Washington's  preference  was  the  latter.  On  the  7th  of 
December  1779  he  writes  to  Governor  Livingston  from 
Morristown  that  "  the  main  army  lies  within  three  or 
four  miles  from  this  place."  And  on  the  15th  he  ordered 
Generals  Greene  and  Duportail  "  to  examine  all  the 
grounds  in  the  environs  of  our  present  encampment  for 
spots  most  proper  to  be  occupied  in  case  of  any  move- 
ment of  the  enemy  toward  us,"  the  positions  to  be  large 
enough  for  the  maneuvers  of  ten  thousand  men. 

On  the  ist  of  December  1779  Washington  became  the 
guest  of  Mrs.  Ford,  the  widow  of  Colonel  Jacob  Ford  jr. 
and  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Timothy  Johnes. 

On  the  22nd  of  January  r78o  he  wrote  to  Quarter- 
master General  Greene,  whose  duty  it  was  to  provide  for 
the  comfort  of  the  commander-in-chief:  "  I  have  been 
at  my  present  quarters  since  the  ist  day  of  December, 
and  have  not  a  kitchen  to  cook  a  dinner  in — nor  is  there 
a  place  at  this  moment  in  which  a  servant  can  lodge  with 
the  smallest  degree  of  comfort.  Eighteen  belonging  to 
my  family  and  all  Mrs.  Ford's  are  crowded  together  in 
her  kitchen,  and  scarce  one  of  them  able  to  speak  for  the 
colds  they  have."  Soon  a  log  kitchen  was  built  at  the 
east  end  of  the  house  for  the  use  of  Washington's  family. 
At  the  west  end  of  the  house,  and  but  a  little  distance 
from  it,  another  log  cabin  was  built  for  a  general  office, 
which  Washington  occupied  particularly  in  the  day-time, 
with  Colonel  Alexander  Hamilton  and  Major  Tench 
Tighlman.  This  cluster  of  buildings  was  guarded  night 
and  day  by  sentinels.  In  the  field  southeast  of  the  house 
huts  were  built  for  Washington's  life  guards,  of  whom 
there  are  said  to  have  been  two  hundred  and  fifty,  under 
command  of  General  Colfax,  grandfather  of  Schuyler 
Colfax,  late  vice-president  of  the  United  States. 

Several  times  in  the  course  of  the  winter  false  alarms 
were  given  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  First  a  distant 
report  of  a  gun  would  be  heard  from  the  most  remote 
sentinel,  and  when  one  nearer,  and  so  on,  until  the  senti- 
nels by  the  house  would  fire  in  turn.  From  them  it 
would  be  communicated  on  toward  Morristown,  until  the 
last  gun  would  be  heard  far  to  the  westward  at  camp. 
Immediately  the  life  guard  would  rush  into  the  house, 


WASHINGTON  AT  THE  "HEADQUARTERS." 


119 


barricade  the  doors,  open  the  windows,  and  about  five 
men  would  place  themselves  at  each  window,  with  their 
muskets  brought  to  a  charge,  loaded  and  cocked  ready 
for  defense.  There  they  would  remain  until  the  troops 
were  seen  marching,  with  music,  at  quick  step  toward  the 
mansion.  During  one  of  these  alarms  an  amusing  inci- 
dent occurred  tending  to  show  the  coolness  of  Washing- 
ton. One  evening,  about  midnight,  when  some  of  the 
younger  ofificers  were  indulging  themselves  over  their 
wine,  in  the  dining-room,  an  alarm  was  given.  A  guest,  a 
young  man  from  New  York,  something  of  a  bon  vivant, 
was  in  much  trepidation,  and  rushing  out  into  the  entry 
exclaimed,  "  Where's  the  general  ?  Where's  the  general?" 
Washington,  just  then  coming  down  stairs,  met  him,  and 
in  moderate  tones  said,  "  Be  quiet,  young  man,  be  quiet." 

Timothy  Ford,  a  son  of  Washington's  hostess,  was  a 
severe  sufferer  all  that  winter  from  the  effects  of  a  wound 
received  in  a  battle  the  previous  fall;  and  among  other 
pleasing  courtesies  we  are  told  that  every  morning  Wash- 
ington knocked  at  Timothy's  door,  and  asked  how  the 
young  soldier  had  passed  the  night.  There  was  some- 
times scarcity  at  the  headquarters  as  well  as  in  the  camp, 
as  the  following  anecdote  will  show:  ''  We  have  nothing 
but  the  rations  to  cook,  sir,"  said  Mrs.  Thompson,  a  very 
worthy  Irishwoman,  and  housekeeper,  to  General  Wash- 
ington. "  Well,  Mrs.  Thompson,  you  must  cook  the  ra- 
tions, for  I  have  not  a  farthing  to  give  you."  "  If  you 
please,  sir,  let  one  of  the  gentlemen  give  me  an  order  for 
six  bushels  of  salt."  "Six  bushels  of  salt;  for  what?" 
"  To  preserve  the  fresh  beef,  sir."  One  of  the  aids  gave 
the  order,  and  next  day  his  excellency's  table  was  amply 
provided.  Mrs.  Thompson  was  sent  for,  and  told  she  had 
done  very  wrong  to  expend  her  own  money,  for  it  was 
not  known  when  she  could  be  repaid.  "  I  owe  you," 
said  his  excellency,  "  too  much  already  to  permit  the 
debt  being  increased,  and  our  situation  is  not  such  as  to 
induce  very  sanguine  hope."  "  Dear  sir,"  said  the  good 
old  lady,  "  it  is  always  darkest  just  before  daylight,  and 
I  hope  your  excellency  will  forgive  me  for  bartering  salt 
for  the  other  necessaries  now  on  the  table."  Salt  was 
eight  dollars  a  bushel  and  could  always  be  exchanged 
with  the  country  people  for  articles  of  provision. 

A  sketch  of  Washington  now  before  me,  says:  "He 
(Washington)  sometimes  smiled,  but  is  not  recollected  to 
have  been  seen  laughing  heartily  except  on  one  occasion. 
This  was  when  he  was  describing  Arnold's  escape,  and 
giving  an  account  of  his  ludicrous  appearance  as  he  gal- 
loped from  the  Robinson  House,  near  West  Point,  to 
embark  on  board  the  enemy's  vessel."  Dr.  Tuttle  in  his 
paper  on  "Washington  at  Morristown,"  says: 

"  The  late  General  John  Doughty  of  Morristown  was 
an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  knew  Washing- 
ton both  winters  he  spent  at  Morristown.  He  often  told 
his  friends  that  he  never  heard  of  Washington's  laughing 
loud  but  once  during  the  two  winters.  The  exception 
was  one  that  took  place  in  the  spring  of  1780,  when 
Washington  had  purchased  a  young  spirited  horse  of 
great  power,  but  which  was  not  broken  to  the  saddle.  A 
man  in  the  army,  or  town,  who  professed  to  be  a  perfect 
horseman,  and  who  made  loud  proclamation  of  his  gifts 


in  that  line,  solicited  and  received  permission  from  the 
general  to  break  the  horse  to  the  saddle.  Immediately 
back  of  Southside,  below  Market  street  was  a  large  yard, 
to  which  Washington  and  his  friends  went  to  see  the 
horse  receive  his  first  lesson.  After  many  preliminary 
flourishes,  the  man  made  a  leap  to  the  horse's  back,  but 
no  sooner  was  he  seated  than  the  horse  made  what  is 
known  as  a  '  stiff  leap,'  threw  down  his  head  and  up  his 
heels,  casting  the  braggart  over  his  head  in  a  sort  of 
elliptical  curve.  As  Washington  looked  at  the  man,  un- 
hurt but  rolling  in  the  dirt,  the  ludicrous  scene  overcame 
his  gravity  and  he  laughed  aloud  so  heartily  that  the  tears 
ran  down  his  cheeks." 

Count  Pulaski  frequently  exercised  his  corps  of  cavalry 
in  front  of  the  headquarters.  He  was  an  expert  horse- 
man, and  performed  many  feats  of  skill.  He  would  some- 
times while  his  horse  was  on  full  gallop  discharge  his 
pistol,  toss  it  in  the  air,  catch  it  by  the  barrels,  and  throw 
it  ahead  as  if  at  an  enemy.  With  his  horse  still  on  a 
jump,  he  would  lift  one  foot  out  of  the  stirrup,  and  with 
the  other  foot  in,  bend  to  the  ground  and  recover  the 
weapon.  Some  of  the  best  horsemen  in  the  army,  be- 
longing to  the  Virginia  Light  Horse,  attempted  to  imitate 
the  feat;  they  would  be  successful  in  three  or  four  trials 
as  far  as  to  catch  the  pistol;  none,  however,  were  able  to 
pick  it  up,  but  in  trying  they  got  some  severe  falls. 

An  officer  who  was  with  the  army  in  Morristown  thus 
gives  his  impressions  of  the  commander-in-chief,  while 
partaking  of  the  hospitalities  of  his  table  : 

"  It  is  natural  to  view  with  keen  attention  the  counten- 
ance of  an  illustrious  man,  with  the  secret  hope  of  dis- 
covering in  his  features  some  peculiar  traces  of  the  excel- 
lence which  distinguishes  him  from,  and  elevates  him 
above,  his  fellow  mortals.  These  expectations  are  real- 
ized in  a  peculiar  manner  in  viewing  the  person  of  Gen- 
eral Washington.  His  tall,  noble  stature  and  just  pro- 
portions, his  fine,  cheerful,  open  countenance,  simple  and 
modest  deportment,  are  all  calculated  to  interest  every 
beholder  in  his  favor,  and  to  command  veneration  and 
respect.  He  is  feared  even  when  silent,  and  beloved 
even  while  we  are  unconscious  of  the  motive.  The  table 
was  elegantly  furnished  and  provisions  ample,  though 
not  abounding  in  superfluities.  The  civilities  of  the 
table  were  performed  by  Colonel  Hamilton  and  the  other 
members  of  the  family,  the  general  and  lady  being  seated 
at  the  side  of  the  table.  In  conversation  his  excellency's 
expressive  countenance  is  peculiarly  interesting  and  pleas- 
ing; a  placid  smile  is  seen  frequently  on  his  lips,  but  a 
loud  laugh,  it  is  said,  seldom  if  ever  escapes  him.  He  is 
polite  and  attentive  to  each  individual  at  table,  and  re- 
tires after  the  compliments  of  a  few  glasses.  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington combines,  in  an  uncommon  degree,  great  dignity 
of  manner  with  the  most  pleasing  affability,  but  possesses 
no  striking  mark  of  beauty." 

Among  the  letters  that  were  written  by  Washington 
that  winter  was  one  to  "Major  General  Arnold"  in  an- 
swer to  his  letter  asking  "  leave  of  absence  from  the  army 
during  the  ensuing  summer,"  on  account  of  his  health. 
Washington  wrote,  "  You  have  my  permission,  though  it 
is  my  expectation  and  wish  to  see  you  in  the  field;" 
then,  alluding  to  the  birth  of  a  son,  he  says,  "  Let  me 
congratulate  you  on  the  late  happy  event.  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington joins  me  in  presenting  her  wishes  for  Mrs.  Arnold 
on  the  occasion." 

How  little  either  of  the  parties  to  these  felicitations 


17 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


could  forsee  the  future!  Before  that  infant  was  six 
months  older  his  mother  was  raving  like  a  maniac  over 
her  husband's  infamy,  and  the  name  of  Arnold  had  be- 
come a  stench  in  the  nostrils  of  every  American  patriot. 

An  important  incident  of  that  time  must  not  be  for- 
gotten. We  learn  that  on  the  i8th  of  April  i78o~the 
French  minister,  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne,  and  Don  Juan 
de  Miralles,  a  distinguished  Spanish  gentleman,  repre- 
senting his  court  before  our  Congress,  arrived  at  Morris- 
town.  That  was  a  great  day  in  the  Wick  farm  camp 
when  these  two  distinguished  foreigners  were  to  be  re- 
ceived. Even  soldiers  who  had  neither  shoes  nor  coats 
looked  cheerful,  as  if  the  good  time  so  long  expected  was 
now  at  hand.  Washington  had  many  plans  to  lay  before 
these  representatives  of  two  powerful  allies,  and  of 
course  time  did  not  hang  heavily.  On  the  24th  Baron 
Steuben,  the  accomplished  disciplinarian  to  whose  severe 
training  our  army  owed  so  much,  had  completed  his 
preparations  for  the  review  of  four  battalions.  This  par- 
ade probably  took  place  somewhere  in  the  vicinity  of 
Morristown.  An  eye  witness  makes  a  large  draft  on  his 
stock  of  adjectives  in  describing  the  review.  "A  large 
stage "  he  says  "  was  erected  in  the  field,  which  was 
crowded  with  officers,  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  distinc- 
tion from  the  country,  among  whom  were  Governor  Liv- 
ingston of  New  Jersey  and  lady.  Our  troops  exhibited 
a  truly  military  appearance,  and  performed  the  evolu- 
tions in  a  manner  which  afforded  much  satisfaction  to 
the  commander-in-chief,  and  they  were  honored  with 
the  approbation  of  the  French  minister  and  all  present. 

Our  enthusiastic  witness  forgot  to  say  whether  Baron 
Steuben  did  or  did  not  bring  forward  on  that  brilliant  oc- 
casion any  of  the  patriots  who  had  no  shoes  or  coats  ; 
but  probably  they  did  duty  in  camp  that  day,  while  those 
who  were  better  clothed,  but  no  better  disposed,  flaunted 
before  spectators  their  gayest  war-plumage!  In  the  even- 
ing General  Washington  and  the  French  minister  at- 
tended a  ball  provided  by  our  principal  officers,  at  which 
was  present  a  numerous  collection  of  ladies  and  gentle- 
men of  distinguished  character.  Fireworks  were  also 
exhibited  by  the  officers  of  the  artilery,  so  that  doubt- 
less that  night  of  the  24th  of  April  1780  was  a  very 
merry  night :  rockets  exploded,  cannons  occasionally 
roared  like  thunder,  and  some  very  curious  inventions 
whirled  and  snapped  to  the  delight  of  some  thousands 
who  did  not  attend  the  ball.  O'Hara's  parlors  were  as 
light  as  they  could  be  made  with  good  tallow  candles,  re- 
quiring to  be  snuffed. 

But  while  all  this  was  passing  where  was  "  that  distin- 
guished gentleman,  Don  Juan  de  Miralles?"  We  learn 
that  he  visited  the  Short  Hills  on  the  igth  or  20th  of 
April.  When  Baron  Steuben  on  the  24th  of  April  was 
reviewing  the  four  battalions  to  the  delight  of  Wash- 
ington, De  la  Luzerne,  and  others,  and  that  night,  while 
the  fireworks  were  flashing  their  eccentricities  in  the 
darkness,  and  the  sounds  of  music  and  dancing  were 
heard  at  O'Hara's,  Don  Juan  de  Miralles  was  tossing 
with  death  fever.  Four  days  afterward  he  died,  and  on 
Llie  29th  of  April  his  funeral  took  place,  in  a  style  never 


imitated  or  equalled  in  Morristown  since.  Dr.  Thatcher 
exhausted  all  his  strong  words  in  expressing  his  admira- 
tion of  the  scene,  and  doubtless  would  have  used  more 
had  they  been  at  hand.     Hear  him: 

"I  accompanied  Dr.  Schuyler  to  headquarters  to  at- 
tend the  funeral  of  M.  de  Miralles.  The  deceased  was  a 
gentleman  of  high  rank  in  Spain,  and  had  been  about 
one  year  a  resident  with  our  Congress  from  the  Spanish 
court.  The  corpse  was  dressed  in  rich  state  and  exposed 
to  public  view,  as  is  customary  in  Europe.  The  coffin 
was  most  splendid  and  stately,  lined  throughout  with  fine 
cambric,  and  covered  on  the  outside  with  rich  black 
velvet,  and  ornamented  in  a  superb  manner.  The^top  of 
the  coffin  w^s  removed  to  display  the  pomp  and  grandeur 
with  which  the  body  was  decorated.  It  was  a  splendid 
full  dress,  consisting  of  a  scarlet  suit,  embroidered  with 
rich  gold  lace,  a  three-cornered  gold-laced  hat,  a  genteel- 
cued  wig,  white  silk  stockings,  large  diamond  shoe  and 
knee  buckles,  a  profusion  of  diamond  rings  decorated 
the  fingers,  and  from  a  superb  gold  watch  set  with  dia 
raonds  several  rich  seals  were  suspended.  His  excel- 
lency General  Washington,  with  several  other  general 
officers,  and  members  of  the  Congress,  attended  the 
funeral  solemnities  and  walked  as  chief  mourners.  The 
other  officers  of  the  army  and  numerous  respectable  citi- 
zens formed  a  splendid  procession,  extending  about  one 
mile.  The  pall-bearers  were  six  field  officers,  and  the 
coffin  was  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  four  officers  of  the 
artillery  in  full  uniform.  Minute-guns  were  fired  during 
the  procession,  which  greatly  increased  the  solemnity  of 
the  occasion.  A  Spanish  priest  performed  service  at  the 
grave  in  the  Roman  Catholic  form.  The  coffin  was 
enclosed  in  a  box  of  plank,  and  in  all  the  profusion  of 
pomp  and  grandeur  was  deposited  in  the  silent  grave  in 
the  common  burying  ground  near  the  church  at  Morris- 
town. A  guard  is  placed  at  the  grave  lest  our  soldiers 
should  be  tempted  to  dig  for  hidden  treasure." 

This  pompous  funeral,  so  pompously  described,  was 
quite  in  contrast  with  the  funeral  procession  which  the 
previous  week  entered  the  same  burying  ground.  The 
neighbors  and  friends  of  Jacob  Johnson,  who  had  been  a 
bold  rider  in  Arnold's  troop  of  light  horse,  made  a  long 
procession.  Dr.  Johnes  and  the  physician  led  the  pro- 
cession on  horseback,  and  the  only  wagon  present  was 
used  to  convey  the  coffin  to  the  graveyard.  At  the  house 
the  pastor  drew  heavenly  consolation  for  the  afflicted 
from  the  word  of  God,  and  at  the  grave  dismissed  the 
people  by  thanking  them  for  their  kindness  to  the  dead. 
And  had  Dr.  Johnes  officiated  at  the  funeral  of  General 
Washington  his  services  would  have  been  just  as  simple 
and  unostentatious.  These  two  funerals  made  no  un- 
interesting feature  in  the  social  life  of  Morristown  when 
Washington  spent  his  last  winter  there. 

No  one  has.  studied  more  fully,  or  written  more  care- 
fully, the  Revolutionary  history  of  Morristown  than  the 
Rev.  Joseph  F.  Tuttle,  D.  D.,  former  pastor  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  of  Rockaway,  and  now  president  of 
Wabash  College.  In  the  interest  of  our  readers  we  can 
not  do  better  than  to  reproduce  here,  with  his  permission, 
a  portion  of  an  article  from  his  pen,  entitled  "  Washing- 
ton in  Morris  county,  New  Jersey,"  published  in  The 
Historical  Magazine  for  June  1871. 

On  the  30th  of  November  1779  General  Greene,  the 
quartermaster-general,  wrote  from  Morristown  to  one  of 


THE  CAMP  AT  KIMBALL  HILL. 


the  quartermasters  of  New  Jersey  that  "  we  are  yet  like 
the  wandering  Jews  in  search  of  a  Jerusalem,  not  having 
fixt  upon  a  position  for  hutting  the  army;"  and  he  says 
that  he  has  described  two  favorable  positions  to  the 
commander-in-chief,  "  the  one  near  Equacanock,  the 
other  near  Mr.  Kemble's,  four  miles  from  this  place." 
The  next  day  he  writes  to  the  same  gentleman  that  "  the 
general  has  fixed  upon  a  place  for  hutting  the  army  near 
Mr.  Kimball's,  within  about  four  miles  of  this  town.  His 
reasons  for  this  choice  are  unnecessary  to  be  explained, 
but  whatever  they  are  they  will  prove  very  distressing  to 
the  quartermaster's  department.  *  *  *  i  beg  you  will 
set  every  wheel  in  motion  that  will  give  dispatch  to 
business."  His  predictions  concerning  the  commissary 
were  fulfilled  more  literally  than  he  himself  dreamed  of. 

The  position  actually  chosen  is  one  of  the  finest  lo- 
calities in  Morris  county,  and  can  be  reached  by  two 
roads.  The  one  principally  traveled  that  winter  is  the  old 
road  to  Mendham,  over  "  Kimball's  Hill,"  as  it  is  called 
to  this  day.  The  camping  ground  is  about  four  miles 
southwest  from  Morristown.  Following  the  Basking 
Ridge  road  four  miles,  through  a  region  famous  for  its 
excellent  soil  and  fine  scenery,  with  the  mountain  on 
your  right,  you  come  to  the  Kimball  property,  now  owned 
by  H.  A.  Hoyt,  Esq.  Here  you  turn  to  the  right  and 
ascend  the  highlands  for  a  mile,  and  you  are  on  the 
ground  which  must  be  considered  as  consecrated  by  the 
unparalleled  hardships  of  the  American  army.  The  dif- 
ferent camps  where  were  quartered  the  troops  from  New 
England,  the  middle  and  the  southern  States  were  on  the 
lands  which  then  belonged  to  Mr.  Kimball  and  Mr. 
Wick,  including  some  one  thousand  acres.  The  house 
on  the  Wick  property  is  still  standing,  very  much  as  it 
was  in  that  winter,  and  it  is  worthy  of  a  brief  description. 
It  is  on  the  crown  of  the  hill,  whence  you  descend  west- 
ward to  Mendham  and  eastward  to  Morristown.  In  front 
of  the  house  was  an  old  oack  locust — cut  down  in  1870 — at 
least  two  feet  and  a  half  in  diameter;  and  at  the  east 
end  is  the  largest  red  cedar  I  have  ever  seen.  Both 
these  trees  were  standing  in  1780.  In  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  house  are  several  immense  black  cherry 
trees,  which  belong  to  the  same  period.  The  house 
itself  is  nearly  square,  and  is  built  in  the  old  style  of 
New  England  houses,  with  a  famous  large  chimney-stack 
in  the  center.  The  very  door  which  swung  then  is  there 
still,  hanging  on  the  same  substantial  strap-hinges,  and 
ornamented  with  the  same  old  lion-headed  knocker. 
Passing  through  this  door,  which  fronts  southward,  you 
come  into  a  hall  some  eight  feet  wide,  its  width  being 
just  the  same  as  the  thickness  of  the  chimney.  Turning 
to  the  right,  you  pass  from  the  hall  into  the  ordinary 
family  room,  and  to  the  left  into  the  parlor.  A  door 
from  the  family-room  and  the  parlor  leads  you  into  the 
kitchen,  which  is  about  two-thirds  the  length  of  the 
house.  The  fire-places  of  these  three  rooms  all  belong 
to  the  one  huge  stone  stack  in  the  center;  and  every- 
thing about  them  remains  as  it  then  was.  They  would 
alarm  modern  economists  by  their  capacity  to  take  in 
wood  by  the  cord.  The  spaces  above  the  old  mantel- 
trees  are  filled  up  with  panel-work,  and  in  the  parlor 
evidently  were  once  quite  fine,  especially  for  that  day. 
On  the  north  side  of  the  parlor  is  a  door  leading  into  the 
spare  bedroom,  with  which  is  connected  an  amusing  in- 
cident. 

Great  difficulty  was  experienced  in  the  sprmg  of  1780 
in  procuring  teams  to  remove  the  army  stores,  and  horses 
for  cavalry.  Mr.  Wick's  daughter,  Tempe,  owned  a 
beautiful  young  horse,  which  she  frequently  rode,  and 
always  with  skill.  She  was  an  admirable  and  a  bold 
rider.  One  day,  as  the  preparations  for  removing  the 
army  vyere  progressing.    Miss   Wick   rode   her   favorite 


horse  to  the  house  of  her  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Leddel,  on 
the  road  to  Mendham;  and  on  her  return  was  accosted 
by  some  soldiers,  who  commanded  her  to  dismount  and 
let  them  take  the  horse.  One  of  them  had  seized  the 
bridle-reins.  Perfectly  self-possessed,  she  appeared  to 
submit  to  her  fate,  but  not  without  a  vain  entreaty  not  to 
take  her  favorite  from  her.  She  then  told  them  she  was 
sorry  to  part  with  the  animal,  but  as  she  must,  she  would 
ask  two  favors  of  them;  the  one  was  to  return  him  to 
her  if  possible,  and  the  other  was,  whether  they  returned 
him  or  not,  to  treat  him  well.  The  soldiers  were  com- 
pletely thrown  off  their  guard,  and  the  reins  were  re- 
leased, they  supposing  she  was  about  to  dismount,  than 
which  nothing  was  farther  from  her  intentions;  for  no 
sooner  was  the  man's  hand  loose  from  the  bridle  than  she 
touched  her  spirited  horse  with  the  whip,  and  he  sped  from 
among  them  like  an  arrow.  As  she  was  riding  away,  at 
full  speed,  they  fired  after  her,  but  probably  without  in- 
tending to  hit  her;  at  any  rate,  she  was  unharmed.  She 
urged  her  horse  up  the  hill,  at  his  highest  speed,  and 
coming  round  to  the  kitchen  door,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  house,  she  sprang  off  and  led  him  into  the  kitchen, 
thence  into  the  parlor,  and  thence  into  the  spare  bed- 
room, which  had  but  one  window,  and  that  on  the  west 
side.  This  was  secured  with  a  shutter.  The  soldiers 
shortly  after  came  up  and  searched  the  barn  and  woods 
in  vain.  Miss  Wick  saved  her  horse  by  keeping  him  in 
that  bed-room  three  weeks,  until  the  last  troop  was  fairly 
off.  The  incident,  which  is  authentic,  shows  the  adroit- 
ness and  courage  of  the  young  lady,  who  afterwards  be- 
came the  wife  of  William  Tuttle,  an  officer  in  the  Jersey 
brigade  during  the  entire  war. 

The  descriptions  of  the  different  camps  which  are  to  be 
given  are  quite  imperfect,  but  interesting;  and,  such  as 
they  are,  are  derived  from  the  late  Captain  William  Tuttle, 
who  was  stationed  with  the  Jersey  troops  during  that 
winter.  It  cannot  be  sufficiently  regretted  that  some 
friendly  pen  was  not  ready  to  record  the  conversations  of 
this  fine  old  soldier,  an  officer  in  the  Third  Jersey  regi- 
ment and  perfectly  acquainted  with  all  the  localities  of 
the  encampment  on  Kimball  Hill.  He  was  20  years  old 
at  the  time,  and  from  the  conclusion  of  the  war  until  his 
death,  in  1836,  he  resided  most  of  the  time  either  on  the 
Wick  farm  or  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  Very  often 
would  he  go  over  the  ground,  especially  with  his  young 
relatives,  pointing  out  the  precise  spots  occupied  by  the 
different  troops,  and  filling  up  hours  with  thrilling  anec- 
dotes connected  with  that  winter;  but  these  conversa- 
tions no  one  was  at  the  pains  to  record,  and  now  they 
are  hopelessly  gone.  He  enlisted  in  the  regular  service 
in  1777,  and  remained  in  it  until  peace  was  declared. 
He  suffered  the  exposures  of  winter  quarters  at  Middle 
Brook,  Valley  Forge,  and  Kimball  Hill;  was  in  the  bat- 
tles of  Chad's  Ford,  Germantown,  Brandywine,  Mon- 
mouth, Springfield,  and  "others  of  less  note;"  was  with 
Lafayette  in  his  Virginia  campaign;  and  was  at  the  siege 
of  Yorktown;  and  yet  his  careless  relatives  culpably  have 
suffered  his  history  to  be  shrunk  into  the  compass  of  his 
own  meager  but  modest  affidavit  in  the  pension  office. 

As  good  fortune  will  have  it,  a  former  tenant  on  the 
Wick  farm  occupied  it  several  years  before  Captain  Tut- 
tle's  death;  and,  in  company  with  the  old  gentleman, 
frequently  passed  over  the  camp  grounds.  Under  Mr. 
Mucklow's  direction  a  small  party  of  us  passed  over  the 
various  points  of  interest.  Taking  the  old  Wick  house 
as  the  starting  point,  we  crossed  the  road,  and,  following 
in  a  southwest  direction,  came  into  a  tract  of  timber  on 
an  easy  slope  and  extending  to  a  living  spring  brook.  In 
the  upper  end  of  the  woods,  near  the  brook,  we  found 
the  ruins  of  several  hut-chimneys.  Following  the  side 
hill,  in  the   same   direction  as  the  stream,  that  is  in  a 


122 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


southeast  course,  we  found  quite  a  large  number  of  these 
stone  chimneys,  and  in  some  of  them  the  stones  seem 
to  be  just  as  the  soldiers  left  them.  At  qne  point  we 
counted  two  rows  containing  forty  chimneys;  some  of 
them  evidently  belonging  to  double  huts.  Just  below 
these  we  came  into  a  fine  level  opening,  almost  bare  of 
trees,  and  which  may  have  been  grubbed  clean  of  stumps 
and  roots  for  a  parade  ground.  A  few  rods  higher  up 
the  side  of  the  hill  were  other  ruins,  extending  with 
some  degree  of  regularity  around  the  face  of  the  hill,  in 
a  curve,  until  the  row  was  terminated  at  a  brook  on  the 
east  side,  which  puts  into  the  stream  already  mentioned. 
On  the  crown  of  the  hill  is  another  row  of  ruins;  and 
Captain  Tuttle  informed  our  guide  that  the  cleared  field 
on  the  hill  was  once  covered  with  similar  remains.  Thus 
far  we  counted  196  of  these  and  had  been  over  the 
ground  occupied  by  the  Jersey  brigade.  Frequently  did 
Captain  Tuttle  relate  the  fact  that  he  had  seen  the  paths 
leading  from  the  Jersey  camp  to  the  Wick  hoifse  marked 
with  blood  from  the  feet  of  the  soldiers  without  shoes! 

On  the  same  side  of  the  road,  and  near  to  it,  is  a 
cleared  field.  In  this  field  a  spring  brook  rises,  around 
which  the  hill  slopes  in  the  form  of  a  horseshoe.  On  the 
north  side  of  this  was  a  slaughter-house,  and  a  little  low- 
er down  on  the  same  side  are  the  remains  of  the  huts 
built  for  the  commissary  department,  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  a  beautiful  spring.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  brook 
we  found  several  ruins,  which,  with  those  just  mentioned, 
amounted  to  23.  On  the  ground  of  the  slaughter-house 
Mr.  Mucklow  plowed  up  an  old  bayonet. 

Crossing  the  road,  directly  opposite  this  point  we  came 
into  a  cleared  field,  which  is  in  the  southern  slope  of 
Fort  Hill.  Along  the  road  fence  is  a  row  of  stones 
which  were  in  the  hut  fire-places,  and  which  were  drawn 
off  to  clear  the  ground  for  plowing;  but  higher  up  in 
the  woods  are  several  remains.  East  of  this  lot  and  lower 
down  the  hill  is  an  open  field,  in  which  we  saw  several 
rows,  in  regular  order,  containing  sixty  fire-places;  and 
thence,  following  the  curve  of  the  hill  in  a  northeast 
course,  in  regular  rows,  we  counted  100  more.  We  were 
informed  that  the  remains  are  to  be  seen  around  the  en- 
tire hill,  but  want  of  time  forbade  our  pursuing  the  in- 
quiry farther. 

We  now  ascend  Fort  Hill,  around  the  sides  of  which 
we  had  been  walking  for  some  time.  It  is  shaped  like  a 
sugarloaf,  and  from  the  northeast  to  the  southeast  its 
sides  are  very  steep,  making  the  ascent  not  a  little  diffi- 
cult. I  was  on  this  point  in  the  spring,  before  the  leaves 
had  put  out,  and  the  viev/  from  it  is  surpassingly  beauti- 
ful. Fort  Hill  is  one  of  the  most  commanding  points  in 
Morris  county.  Westward  you  can  see  the  Schooley's 
Mountain  range,  and,  as  I  fancied,  the  mountains  along 
the  Delaware.  Southward  is  a  fine  range  of  highlands, 
in  the  midst  of  which  is  Basking  Ridge  (where  General 
Lee  was  captured),  so  distinct  that  with  a  glass  you  can 
tell  what  is  doing  in  its  streets.  Southeast  of  you  Long 
Hill  and  Plainfield  Mountain  stretch  far  in  the  distance, 
from  the  top  of  which  you  may  see  from  New  York  to 
New  Brunswick,  if  not  to  the  Delaware.  East  of  you 
are  the  Short  Hills,  so  famous  as  the  watchtower  of 
freedom  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  on  which 
night  and  day  sentinels  were  observing  the  country  along 
the  Hackensack,  Passaic  and  Raritan,  and  even  to  New 
York  and  the  Narrows.  Northeast  you  can  see  the  two 
twin  mountains  in  the  vicinity  of  Ringwood,  and  beyond 
that  the  blue-tinged  mountains  toward  Newburgh.  Be- 
tween these  prominent  points  are  intervening  landscapes 
beautiful  as  the  eye  ever  rested  on. 

At  the  east  and  northeast,  on  the  top  of  Fort  Hill,  are 
some  remains  not  like  those  we  had  previously  examined. 
They  evidently  were  not  the  ruins  of  breastworks,  but 


seem  to  have  been  designed  to  prepare  level  places  for 
the  free  movements  of  artillery;  and  a  close  inspection 
shows  that  cannon  stationed  at  those  two  points  on  the 
hill  top  would  sweep  the  entire  face  of  the  hill  in  case  of 
an  attack.  This  undoubtedly  was  the  design.  In  the 
immediate  vicinity  are  the  remains  of  quite  a  number  of 
chimneys,  of  huts  probably  occupied  by  a  detachment  of 
artillerymen. 

Passing  down  the  west  side  of  Fort  Hill,  toward  the 
old  house,  we  came  into  what  has  always  been  called  the 
Jockey  Hollow  road,  at  a  place  which  tradition  points  out 
as  the  spot  where  Captain  Billings  jvas  shot,  when  the 
Pennsylvania  troops  mutinied,  on  New  Year's  day  1781. 
The  aged  mother  of  Robert  K.  Tuttle,  of  Morristown, 
pointed  out  a  black  oak  tree  by  the  roadside  as  near  the 
spot  where  the  unfortunate  man  was  shot  down  and 
buried  in  the  road  where  he  was  killed.  Mrs.  Tuttle  was 
at  the  time  living  on  a  part  of  the  Wick  farm,  so  that 
the  tradition  is  undoubtedly  true. 

We  now  returned  to  the  house  in  order  to  visit  Hos- 
pital field,  as  it  is  still  called,  and  also  the  Maryland  field, 
so  called  because  the  Maryland  troops  were  there  en- 
camped during  the  winter  of  177980.  These  fields  are 
about  half  a  mile  north  from  the  house.  Hospital  field  is 
on  the  slope  of  a  high  hill,  facing  east  and  southeast;  and 
at  the  bottom  is  a  fine  spring  brook,  in  the  vicinity  of 
which  were  huts  for  the  hospitals.  Of  these  there  are  no 
remains,  as  the  plough  has  long  since  obliterated  them; 
but  near  by  is  a  most  interesting  place  marked  by  a  grove 
of  locust  trees,  planted  to  protect  the  graves  from  the 
plough.  Here  are  two  rows  of  graves  where  were  buried 
:hose  who  died  at  the  hospitals  that  winter.  A  granite 
monument  ought  to  be  built  immediately  there,  to  com- 
memorate those  unnamed  men  who  died  in  the  service  of 
their  country.  The  length  of  space  occupied  by  the 
graves,  as  far  as  can  now  be  seen,  is  about  one  hundred 
and  seventy  feet,  thus  making  a  single  row  of  graves 
about  three  hundred  and  forty  feet  long.  The  graves 
evidently  are  near  together,  so  that  quite  a  large  number 
must  have  died  in  the  hospitals  that  winter.  Whether 
there  was  any  other  burying  ground  used  it  is  impossible 
now  to  determine;  but  it  is  very  probable  that  the  hill- 
sides in  the  vicinity  contain  many  graves  which  will  re- 
main unknown  until  the  morning  of  the  resurrection. 

Directly  east  from  Hospital  field,  on  a  hill  opposite, 
the  Maryland  troops  and  perhaps  the  Virginia  were 
"  hutted;"  but  we  were  assured  that  no  remains  are  left, 
as  the  ground  has  all  been  ploughed,  so  that  we  did  not 
visit  it.  In  all  we  had  counted  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  chimney  foundations,  marking  the  sites  of  as  many 
huts,  besides  many  which  inadvertently  we  omitted  to 
count.  We  must  have  seen  more  than  four  hundred  in 
all;  and  I  am  thus  particular  in  describing  their  positions 
because  a  few  years  more  may  entirely  obliterate  all  traces 
of  the  camps  on  Kimball  Hill. 

If  we  return  to  the  top  of  Fort  Hill,  and  cast  the  eye 
over  the  prominent  points  already  mentioned,  we  shall 
perceive  how  admirably  they  are  adapted  for  the  purpose 
of  spreading  alarm  by  means  of  beacon-fires.  The 
ranges  of  the  Short  and  Long  hills  and  Plainfield  Moun- 
tain on  the  southeast  and  east,  Schooley's  Mountain  on 
the  west,  the  mountains  near  Ringwood  and  along  the 
New  York  line  on  the  north  and  northeast,  all  are  as  dis- 
tinct as  light-houses.  Very  early  in  the  war  there  was  a 
beacon  station  on  the  Short  Hills,  near  the  country  resi- 
dence of  the  late  Bishop  Hobart;  but  in  the  winter  of 
1778-9  Washington  communicated  to  the  governor  of 
New  Jersey  a  plan  for  establishing  these  beacons 
throughout  the  State;  and  in  accordance  with  his  re- 
quest, on  the  9th  of  April  1779  General  Philemon  Dick- 
erson,  one  of  the  most  able  militia  officers  in  the  State, 


THE   PATRIOT  BEACOJsr  LIGHTS— StiFfERIKG  AT  KLIMBALL  HILT,. 


1:^1 


was  instructed  to  carry  the  plan  into  effect.     Hitherto  no 
traces  of  a  written  plan  have  been  found,  but   there  can 
be  no  doubt  as  to  some  of  the  locations.     That  on  the 
Short  Hills  is  remembered  by  persons  still  living  [1854] 
from    whom    the    Rev.    Samuel    L.    Tuttle    derived    the 
account  he  gives  of  the  matter.     "On  that  commanding 
elevation,"  writes  Mr.  Tuttle,  in  his  lecture  on   Bottle 
Hill  during  the  Revolution,  "  the  means  were  kept  for 
alarming  the  inhabitants  of  the  interior  in  case  of  any 
threatening  movement  of  the  enemy  in  any  direction.    A 
cannon,  an  eighteen-pounder — called  in  those  times  '  the 
old  sow ' — fired  every  half  hour,  answered  the  object  in 
the  daytime  and  in  very  stormy  and  dark  nights;  while 
an  immense  fire  or  beacon  light  answered  the  end  at  all 
other  times.     A  log  house  or  two    *    *    *    were  erected 
there  for  the  use  of  the  sentinels,  who  by  relieving  one 
another  at  definite  intervals  kept  careful  watch  day  and 
night,  their  eyes  continually  sweeping  over  the  vast  ex- 
tent of  country  that  lay  stretched  out  like  a  map  before 
them.     The  beacon  light  was  constructed  of  dry  wood, 
piled  around  a  high  pole;  this  was  filled  with  combustible 
materials,  and  a  tar-barrel  was  placed  upon  the  top  of 
the  pole.     When  the  sentinels  discovered  any  movement 
of  the  enemy  of  a  threatening  character,  or  such  tidings 
were  brought  them   by  messengers,  either  the  alarm  gun 
was  fired  or  the  beacon  light  kindled,  so  that  the  tidings 
were  quickly  spread  over  the  whole  region.     There   are 
several  persons  still  living  in  this  place  who  remember  to 
have  heard  that  dismal  alarm  gun,  and  to  have  seen  those 
beacon  lights  sending  out  their  baleful  and  terrific  light 
from  that  high  point  of  observation;  and  who  also  re- 
member to  have  seen  the  inhabitants,  armed  with  their 
muskets,  making  all  possible  haste  to  Chatham  bridge 
and  the  Short  Hills." 

That  there  was  a  system  of  beacon  lights  there  can  be 
no  doubt,  although,  unfortunately,  the  most  of  those  are 
dead  who  could  give  us  information  about  it,  and  there 
are  no  documents  describing  the  various  points  where 
these  lights  were  kindled.  Of  one  we  have  some  knowl- 
edge. Seven  miles  north  of  Morristown,  near  the  present 
railroad  depot  at  Denville,  is  a  mountain  which  rises 
abruptly  to  a  considerable  height,  from  which  you  can  see 
the  Short  Hills.  On  this  point  there  was  a  beacon  light, 
managed  by  Captain  Josiah  Hall,  whose  descendants  still 
reside  in  the  vicinity.  A  fire  from  this  point  would  be 
seen  from  the  top  of  Green  Pond  Mountain,  several 
miles  farther  north;  and  a  fire  on  that  mountain  would 
probably  reach  the  portion  of  Sussex  county  where  the 
.brave  Colonel  Seward,  grandfather  of  Senator  Seward, 
resided.  Tradition  says  that  such  was  the  case;  and 
that  often  at  night  the  tongue  of  fire  might  be  seen  leap- 
ing into  the  air  on  the  Short  Hills,  soon  to  be  followed 
by  brilliant  lights  on  Fort  Hill,  on  the  Denville  moun- 
tain, the  Green  Pond  Mountain,  and  on  the  range  of 
mountains  on  the  Orange  county  line.  To  many  it  has 
seemed  inexplicable,  and  it  was  so  to  the  enemy,  that 
they  could  not  make  a  movement  toward  the  hills  of 
Morris  without  meeting  the  yeomen  of  Morris,  armed 
and  ready  to  repel  them.  I  have  conversed  with  several 
old  men  who  have  seen  the  roads  coverging  on  Morris- 
town  and  Chatham  lined  with  men  who  were  hurrying  off 
to  the  Short  Hills,  to  drive  back  the  invaders.  The 
alarm  gun  and  the  beacon  light  explain  the  mystery; 
and,  as  an  illustration  of  scenes  frequently  witnessed,  I 
may  give  an  incident  in  the  life  of  an  old  soldier,  by  the 
name  of  Bishop,  who  was  living  at  Mendham.  He  was 
one  morning  engaged  in  stacking  his  wheat,  with  a  hired 
man  when  the  alarm  gun  pealed  out  its  warning.  ''I 
must  go,"  exclaimed  Bishop.  "You  had  better  take 
care  of  your  wheat,"  said  his  man.  Again  they  heard 
the  dull,  heavy  sound  of  the  alarm  gun;  and  instantly 


Bishop  slid  down  from  the  stack,  exclaiming,  "I  can't 
stand  this.  Get  along  with  the  grain  the  best  way  you 
can.  I  'm  off  to  the  rescue  !  "  Hastily  he  packed  a 
small  budget  of  provisions;  and,  shouldering  his  musket, 
in  a  few  minutes  he  was  on  the  way  to  Morristown.  He 
says  that  on  his  way  there  he  found  men  issuing  from 
every  road,  equipped  just  as  they  left  their  fields  and 
shops,  so  that  by  the  time  he  reached  town  he  was  one 
of  a  large  company.  Here  they  were  met  by  a  messenger 
who  said  the  enemy  was  retreating.  It  was  by  such 
alacrity  that  it  came  to  be  a  boast  of  the  Morris  county 
people  that  the  enemy  had  never  been  able  to  gain  a 
footing  among  these  hills.  They  frequently  made  the 
attempt,  but  never  succeeded.  Once,  as  it  is  said,  for 
the  purpose  of  exchanging  prisoners,  a  detachment  did 
reach  Chatham  bridge,  which  was  guarded  by  brave 
General  Winds,  to  whom  the  braggart  captain  sent  word 
that  he  proposed  to  dine  next  day  in  Morristown.  The 
message  called  out  the  somewhat  expressive  reply  that  if 

he  dined  in  Morristown  next  day  he  would  sup  in  

(the  place  infernal)  next  night  ! 

So  far  as  possible  let  us  now  relate  the  facts  which 
show  the  sufferings  and  heroism  of  our  soldiers  on  Kim- 
ball Hill  the  winter  of  1779-80.  On  the  9th  of  December 
General  Greene  wrote:  "  Our  hutting  goes  on  rapidly, 
and  the  troops  will  be  under  cover  in  a  few  days.  The 
officers  will  remain  in  the  open  field  until  the  boards 
[from  Trenton]  arrive,  and  as  their  sufferings  are  great 
they  will  be  proportionably  clamorous."  The  New  Eng- 
land troops  on  the  9th  of  that  month  were  at  Porapton; 
and  Doctor  Thatcher,  in  his  Military  Journal,  says:  "  On 
the  14th  we  reached  this  wilderness,  about  three  miles 
from  Morristown,  where  we  are  to  build  huts  for  winter 
quarters."  The  severity  of  the  winter  may  be  inferred 
from  Doctor  Thatcher's  description:  "  The  snow  on  the 
ground  is  about  two  feet  deep  and  the  weather  extremely 
cold;  the  soldiers  are  destitute  of  both  tents  and  blankets, 
and  some  of  them  are  actually  barefooted  and  almost 
naked.  Our  only  defense  against  the  inclemency  of  the 
weather  consists  of  brushwood  thrown  together.  Our 
lodging  the  last  night  was  on  the  frozen  ground.  Those 
officers  who  have  the  privilege  of  a  horse  can  always 
have  a  blanket  at  hand.  Having  removed  the  snow  we 
wrapped  ourselves  in  great  coats,  spread  our  blankets  on 
the  ground  and  lay  down  by  the  side  of  each  other,  five 
or  six  together,  with  large  fires  at  our  feet,  leaving  orders 
with  the  waiters  to  keep  it  well  supplied  with  fuel  during 
the  night.  We  could  procure  neither  shelter  nor  forage 
for  our  horses;  and  the  poor  animals  were  tied  to  the 
trees  in  the  woods  for  twenty-four  hours,  without  food 
except  the  bark  which  they  peeled  from  the  trees." 
"  The  whole  army  in  this  department  are  to  be  engaged 
in  building  log  huts  for  winter  quarters.  The  ground  is 
marked,  and  the  soldiers  have  commenced  ;cutting  down 
the  timber  of  oak  and  walnut,  of  which  we  have  great 
abundance.  Our  baggage  has  at  length  arrived;  the  men 
find  it  very  difficult  to  pitch  their  tents  in  the  frozen 
ground;  and,  notwithstanding  large  fires,  we  can  scarcely 
keep  from  freezing.  In- addition  to  other  sufferings  the 
whole  army  has  been  seven  or  eight  days  entirely  desti- 
tute of  the  staff  of  life;  our  only  food  is  miserable  fresh 
beef,  without  bread,  salt  or  vegetables." 

The  general  fact  that  that  winter  was  one  of  terrible 
severity  is  well  known;  but  we  may  obtain  more  vivid 
ideas  of  this  fact  by  a  few  details.  In  the  New  Jersey 
Gazette  of  February  9th  1780,  published  at  Trenton,  the 
editor  says:  "  The  weather  has  been  so  extremely  cold 
for  nearly  two  months  past  that  sleighs  and  other  car- 
riages now  pass  from  this  place  to  Philadelphia  on  the 
Delaware,  a  circumstance  not  remembered  by  the  oldest 
person   among  us."     As  early  as  the  18th  of  December 


124 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


1779  an  officer  who  visited  some  of  the  smaller  encamp- 
ments along  the  hills  in  the  vicinity  writes:  "  I  found  the 
weather  excessively  cold."  On  the  14th  of  January  Lord 
Stirling  led  a  detachment  against  the  enemy  on  Staten 
Island;  and  on  the  morning  of  the  isth  he  crossed  on 
the  ice  from  Elizabethtown  Point.  The  Hudson  was  so 
bridged  with  ice  as  to  permit  foot  passengers  to  cross 
from  New  York  to  Hoboken  and  Paulus  Hook. 

But  the  unparalleled  depth  of  snow  added  to  the  intense 
sufferings  of  the  soldiers.  On  the  14th  of  December,  as 
Thatcher  says,  the  "  snow  was  two  feet  deep."  On  the 
28th  of  December  an  officer  says  in  the  New  Jersey 
Gazette,  "  While  I  am  writing  the  storm  is  raging  without." 
But  the  great  storm  of  the  winter  began  on  the  3d  of 
January,  when  the  greater  part  of  the  array  were  not 
protected  by  the  huts,  which  were  not  yet  ready  for  oc- 
cupation. Doctor  Thatcher  thus  describes  the  storm  : 
"  On  the  3d  inst.  we  experienced  one  of  the  most  tre- 
mendous snow  storms  ever  remembered;  no- man  could 
endure  its  violence  many  minutes  without  danger  to  his 
life.  Several  marquees  were  torn  asunder  and  blown 
down  over  the  officers'  heads  in  the  night,  and  some  of 
the  soldiers  were  actually  covered  while  in  their  tents 
and  buried,  like  sheep,  under  the  snow.  My  comrades 
and  myself  were  roused  from  sleep  by  the  calls  of  some 
officers  for  assistance;  their  marquee  had  blown  down, 
and  they  were  almost  smothered  in  the  storm  before  they 
could  reach  our  marquee,  only  a  few  yards,  and  their 
blankets  and  baggage  were  nearly  buried  in  the  snow. 
We  (the  officers)  are  greatly  favored  in  having  a  supply 
of  straw  for  bedding;  over  this  we  spread  all  our  blankets, 
and  with  our  clothes,  and  large  fires  at  our  feet,  while 
four  or  five  are  crowded  together,  preserve  ourselves 
from  freezing.  But  the  sufferings  of  the  poor  soldiers 
can  scarcely  be  described;  while  on  duty  they  are  un- 
avoidably exposed  to  all  the  inclemency  of  the  storm 
and  severe  cold;  at  night  they  now  have  a  bed  of  straw 
on  the  ground  and  a  single  blanket  to  each  man;  they 
are  badly  clad  and  some  are  destitute  of  shoes.  We  have 
contrived  a  kind  of  stone  chimney  outside,  and  an  open- 
ing at  one  end  of  our  tents  gives  us  the  benefit  of  the 
fire  within.  The  snow  is  now  from  four  to  six  feet  deep, 
which  so  obstructs  the  roads  as  to  prevent  our  receiving 
a  supply  of  provisions.  For  the  last  ten  days  we  received 
but  two  pounds  of  meat  a  man,  and  we  are  frequently  for 
six  or  eight  days  entirely  destitute  of  meat  and  then  as 
long  without  bread.  The  consequence  is  the  soldiers  are 
so  enfeebled  from  hunger  and  cold  as  to  be  almost  un- 
able to  perform  military  duty  or  labor  in  constructing 
their  huts.  It  is  well  known  that  General  Washington 
experiences  the  greatest  solicitude  for  the  sufferings  of 
his  army  and  is  sensible  that  they  in  general  conduct 
with  heroic  patience  and  fortitude." 

This  storm  continued  for  several  days,  accompanied 
with  violent  winds,  which  drifted  the  snow  so  that  the 
roads  were  impassable.  So  deep  was  the  snow  that  in 
many  places  it  covered  the  tops  of  the  fences,  and  teams 
could  be  driven  over  them.    Under  date  of  January  22nd 

1780  an  officer  on  Kimball  Hill  wrote  the  following  lively 
description  of  the  condition  of  the  army  in  consequence 
of  this  storm  :  "We  had  a  fast  lately  in  camp,  by  general 
constraint,  of  the  whole  army;  in  which  we  fasted  more 
sincerely  and  truly  for  three  days  than  we  ever  did  from 
all  the  resolutions  of  Congress  put  together.  This  was 
occasioned  by  the  severity  of  the  weather  and  drifting  of 
the  snow,  whereby  the  roads  were  rendered  impassable 
and  all  supplies  of  provision  cut  off,  until  the  officers 
were  obliged  to  release  the  soldiers  from  command  and 
permit  them  to  go  in  great  numbers  together  to  get  pro- 
visions where  they  could  find  them.  The  inhabitants  of 
this  part  of  the  country  discovered  a  noble  spirit  in  feed- 


ing the  soldiers  ;  and,  to  the  honor  of  the  soldiery,  they 
received  what  they  got  with  thankfulness,  and  did  little 
or  no  damage." 

The  manuscript  letters  of  Joseph  Lewis,  quartermaster 
at  Morristown,  prove  this  description  to  be  truthful.  On 
the  8th  of  January  he  wrote  :  "We  are  now  as  distressed 
as  want  of  provision  and  cash  can  make  us.  The  soldiers 
have  been  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  robbing  the  in- 
habitants, to  save  their  own  lives."  On  the  next  day  he 
wrote  :  "  We  are  still  in  distress  for  want  of  provisions. 
Our  magistrates,  as  well  as  small  detachments  from  the 
army,  are  busy  collecting  to  relieve  our  distresses,  and  I 
am  told  that  the  troops  already  experience  the  good 
effects  of  their  industry.  We  are  wishing  for  more  plen- 
tiful supplies."  And,  in  real  distress,  he  writes  under 
the  same  date:  "The  sixty  million  dollars  lately  collected 
by  tax  must  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  superintendent 
for  the  new  purchases.  You  will  therefore  have  but  little 
chance  of  getting  cash  until  more  is  made.  If  none  comes 
sooner  than  by  striking  new  emissions  I  must  run  away 
from  Morris  and  live  with  you  at  Trenton,  or  some  other 
place  more  remote  from  this,  to  secure  me  from  the  al- 
ready enraged  multitudes." 

On  the  8th  of  January  General  Washington  wrote  from 
the  Ford  mansion,  the  comforts  of  which  mubt  have 
made  the  sufferings  of  his  soldiers  seem  the  more  awful  : 
"  The  present  state  of  the  army,  with  respect  to  provis- 
ions, is  the  most  distressing  of  any  we  have  experienced 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war.  For  a  fortnight  past  the 
troops,  both  officers  and  men,  have  been  almost  perishing 
for  want.  They  have  been  alternately  without  bread  or 
meat  the  whole  time,  with  a  very  scanty  allowance.^  of 
either,  and  frequently  destitute  of  both.  They  have 
borne  their  sufferings  with  a  patience  that  merits  the  ap- 
probation and  ought  to  excite  the  sympathy  of  their 
countryman.  But  they  are  now  reduced  to  an  extremity 
no  longer  to  be  supported."  This  letter,  which  was  ad- 
dressed to  "the  magistrates  of  New  Jersey,"  is  one  of  the 
noblest  productions  of  his  pen;  and  right  nobly  did  those 
thus  feelingly  addressed  respond  to  the  appeal.  And  in 
this  none  were  superior  to  the  people  of  Morris  county, 
on  whom  of  necesssity  fell  the  burden  of  affording  imme- 
diate relief,  and  whose  efforts  did  not  cease  when  this 
was  effected.  On  the  20th  of  January  Washington  wrote 
to  Doctor  John  Witherspoon  that  "  all  the  counties  of 
this  State  that  I  have  heard  from  have  attended  to  my 
requsition  for  provisions  with  the  most  cheerful  and  com- 
mendable zeal;  "  and  to  "  Elbridge  Gerry,  in  Congress," 
he  wrote:  "The  exertions  of  the  magistrates  and  inhabi- 
tants of  this  State  were  great  and  cheerful  for  our  relief." 
Irihis  Military  Journal  (page  182)  Doctor  Thatcher  speaks 
with  enthusiasm  of  "  the  ample  supply  "  of  food  furnished 
by  "the  magistrates  and  people  of  Jersey;"  and  Isaac 
Collins,  editor  of  the  New  Jersey  Gazette,  on  the  19th  of 
January  says  :  "With  pleasure  we  inform  our  readers 
that  our  army,  which,  from  the  unexpected  inclemency 
of  the  season  and  the  roads  becoming  almost  impassable, 
had  suffered  a  few  days  for  want  of  provisions,  are,  from 
the  spirited  exertions  now  making,  likely  to  be  well  sup- 
plied." 

Provisions  came  with  a  right  hearty  good  will  from  the 
farmers  in  Mendham,  Chatham,  Hanover,  Morris,  and 
Pequannock  ;  and  not  only  provisions,  but  stockings  and 
shoes,  coats  and  blankets.  "  Mrs.  Parson  Johnes  "  and 
"  Mrs.  Counsellor  Condict,"  with  all  the  noble  women  in 
the  town,  made  the  sewing  and  knitting  needles  fly  on 
their  mission  of  mercy.  The  memory  of  the  Morris 
county  women  of  that  day  is  yet  as  dehghtful  as  the 
"smell  of  a  field  which  the  Lord  hath  blessed  !  "  and  this 
tribute  to  their  worth  is  not  woven  up  of  fictions,  but  of 
facts,  gathered  from  living  lips;  and  therefore  never  may 


FESTIVITIES  AT  THE  "HEADQUARTERS." 


those  women  perish  from  the  memory  of  their  admiring 
and  grateful  descendants. 

The  generosity  of  which  we  have  spoken  is  much  en- 
hanced by  the  fact  that  the  people  supposed  themselves 
to  be  giving,  and  not  selling  their  provisions.  According 
to  the  prices — continental  currency — affixed  to  various 
articles  by  the  magistrates  of  Morris  county  in  January 
1780,  they  gave  away  thousands  of  dollars  to  soldiers  at 
their  tables  ;  and  as  for  provisions,  nominally  sold,  they 
were  paid  for  either  in  continental  bills  or  certificates, 
both  of  which  they  considered  as  nearly  worthless.  Their 
opinion  of  the  bills  was  not  wrong,  since  after  the  war 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  were  left  on  their  hands, 
which  were  never  redeemed;  but  many  of  them  made  a 
serious  mistake  in  their  estimate  of  the  certificates, 
which  were  redeemed  with  interest.  Yet  many  of 
these  men  threw  these  certificates  away  as  worthless, 
and  esteemed  themselves  as  doing  an  unpaid  duty  to 
their  country. 

It  is  interesting  to  ascertain  the  prices  of  various  arti- 
cles used  in  the  camp  that  winter.  On  the  27th  of  Jan- 
uary Quartermaster  Lewis  wrote:  "The  justices,  at 
their  meeting,  established  the  following  prices  to  be 
given  for  hay  and  grain  throughout  the  county  [of  Mor- 
ris], from  the  ist  of  December  1779  to  the  ist  of  Febru- 
ary next,  or  until  the  regulating  act  take  place.  For  hay, 
ist  quality,  ;!^ioo  per  ton;  2nd,  ;^8o;  3d,  ^50;  for  one 
horse,  24  hours,  $6;  for  one  horse,  per  night,  $4;  wheat, 
per  bushel,  $50;  rye,  $35;  corn,  $30;  buckwheat  and 
oats,  $20.  This  certainly  is  rather  a  startling  "price 
current;"  but  it  was  only  in  keeping  with  such  signficant 
advertisements  as  frequently  appeared  in  the  papers  of 
that  day:  "  one  thousand  dollars  "  for  the  recovery  of 
"my  negro  man  Toney;"  or  "thirty  Spanish  milled 
dollars  for  the  recovery  of  my  runaway  Mu- 
latto fellow  Jack."  "  Forty  paper  dollars  were 
worth  only  one  in  specie;"  and  the  fact  in- 
creases our  wonder  alike  at  the  patriotism  of  the  people 
and  soldiers,  which  was  sufficient  to  keep  the  army  from 
open  mutiny  or  being  entirely  disbanded. 

To  leave  this  gloomy  side  of  the  picture  a  little  while, 
it  is  well  to  record  the  fact  that  on  the  28th  of  December 
1779,  while  the  snow  "  storm  was  raging,"  Martha  Wash- 
ington passed  through  Trenton,  on  her  way  to  Morris- 
town;  and  that  a  troop  of  gallant  Virginians  stationed 
there  were  paraded  to  do  her  honor,  being  very  proud  to 
own  her  as  a  Virgmian,  and  her  husband  also.  She 
spent  New  Year's  day  in  Morristown;  and  now,  in  the 
Ford  mansion,  you  may  see  the  very  mirror  in  which  her 
dignified  form  has  often  been  reflected.  The  wife  of  the 
American  commander-in-chief  received  her  company, 
did  the  honors  of  her  family,  and  even  appeared  occa- 
sionally at  the  "  assembly  balls  "  that  winter  dressed  in 
American  stuffs.  It  is  a  pleasing  anecdote  which  was 
once  told  me  by  the  late  Mrs.  Abby  Vail,  daughter  of 
Uzal  and  Anna  Kitchel.  Some  of  the  ladies  in  Han- 
over, and  among  them  "  the  stately  Madame  Budd," 
mother  of  Dr.  Bern  Budd,  dressed  in  their  best,  made  a 
call  on  Lady  Washington,  and,  as  one  of  them  afterward 
said,  "  we  were  dressed  in  our  most  elegant  silks  and 
ruffles,  and  so  were  introduced  to  her  ladyship.  And 
dont  you  think,  we  found  her  with  a  speckled  homespun 
apron  on,  and  engaged  in  knitting  a  stocking!  She  re- 
ceived us  very  handsomely,  and  then  resumed  her  knit- 
ting. In  the  course  of  her  conversation  she  said  very 
kindly  to  us,  while  she  made  her  needle  fly,  that  Ameri- 
can ladies  should  be  patterns  of  industry  to  their  coun- 
trywomen; *  *  *  *"  we  must  become  independent 
of  England  .by  doing  without  those  articles  which  we  can 
make  ourselves.  Whilst  our  husbands  and  brothers  are 
examples  of  patriotism,  we   must  be  examples  of  indus- 


try!"    "I  do  declare,"  said  one  of   them  afterward,  "I 
never  felt  so  ashamed  and  rebuked  in  my  life!" 

From  documents  not  very  important  in  themselves  we 
sometimes  derive  impressive  lessons.  The  original  of 
the  following  subscription  for  assembly  balls  in  Morris- 
town  that  winter  is  still  in  possession  of  the  Biddle  family, 
on  the  Delaware:  "The  subscribers  agree  to  pay  the 
sums  annexed  to  their  respective  names  and  an  equal 
quota  of  any  further  expense  which  may  be  incurred  in 
the  promotion  and  support  of  a  dancing  assembly  to  be 
held  in  Morristown  the  present  winter  of  1780.  Sub- 
scription moneys  to  be  paid  into  the  hands  of  a  treasurer 
hereafter  to  be  appointed."  The  sum  paid  in  each  case 
was  "400  doll's,"  and  the  contributors  were  as  follows: 
Nath.  Greene,  H.  Knox,  John  Lawrence,  J.  Wilkinson, 
Clement  Biddle,  Robt.  H.  Harrison,  R.  K.  Meade, 
Alex.  Hamilton,  Tench  Tighlman,  C.  Gibbs,  Jno.  Pierce, 
The  Baron  de  Kalb,  Jno.  Moylan,  Le  Ch.  Dulingsley, 
Geo.  Washington,  R.  Clairborne,  Lord  Stirling,  Col. 
Hazen,  Asa  Worthington,  Benj.  Brown,  Major  Stagg, 
James  Thompson,  H.  Jackson,  Col.  Thomas  Proctor,  J. 
B.  Cutting,  Edward  Hand,  William  Little,  Thos.  Wool- 
ford,  Geo.  Olney,  Jas.  Abeel,  Robert  Erskine,  Jno. 
Cochran,  George  Draper,  J.  Burnet. 

The  amounts  thus  paid  constitute  the  somewhat  im- 
posing sum  of  $13,600  "  for  the  support  of  a  dancing 
assembly  the  present  winter  of  1780."  Now  I  frankly 
confess  that  this  paper  produced  an  uncomfortable  sensa- 
tion in  my  mind,  by  the  somewhat  harsh  contrast  between 
the  dancing  of  the  well-housed  officers,  at  O'Hara's  tavern 
and  the  "  hungry  ruin"  at  Kimball  Hill.  The  assembly  was 
not  so  well  set  off  with  gas-lights  and  fashionable  splendor 
as  many  a  ball  in  our  day.  No  doubt  it  was  rather  a 
plain  affair  of  its  kind;  and  yet  it  reminds  one  that,  while 
these  distinguished  men  were  tripping  "  the  light  fantas- 
tic toe  "  in  well-warmed  rooms,  there  were  at  that  very 
time,  as  Captain  William  Tuttle  often  told  it,  a  great 
many  tents  in  which  there  were  soldiers  without  coats  and 
barefoot,  shivering  and  perishing  in  the  fearful  storms 
and  colds  of  that  same  "present  wmter  of  1780;"  and 
that  there  were  paths  about  the  camps  on  Kimball  Hill 
that  were  marked  with  real  blood  expressed  from  the 
cracked  and  frozen  feet  of  soldiers  who  had  no  shoes! 

However,  I  do  not  allude  to  this  contrast  as  peculiar 
to  that  place  and  those  men,  for  feasting  and  starvation, 
plenty  crowned  with  wreaths  of  yellow  wheat  and  gaunt 
famine  wreathed  in  rags  and  barefoot,  dancing  and  dying, 
are  facts  put  in  contrast  in  other  places  beside  O'Hara's 
and  Kimball  Hill,  and  at  other  times  than  "the  present 
winter  of  1780." 

The  principal  object  of  introducing  the  subscription 
paper  here  is  to  show  the  kind  of  currency  on  which  our 
Revolution  was  compelled  to  rely.  Here  we  find  the 
leading  men  in  Morristown  paying  a  sum  for  the  dancing 
master  and  landlord,  the  ministers  of  a  little  amusement, 
which  nominally  is  large  enough  for  the  high  figures  of 
Fifth  avenue  millionaires;  but  a  closer  inspection  shows 
that  the  sum  $13,000  was  not  worth  as  much  as  three  hun- 
dred silver  dollars.  Doctor  Thatcher  says  significantly:  "I 
have  just  seen  in  the  newspaper  an  advertisement  offering 
for  an  article  forty  dollars.  This  is  the  trash  which  is  tend- 
ed to  requite  us  for  our  sacrifices,  sufferings,  and  priva- 
tions while  in  the  service  of  our  country.  It  is  but  a 
sordid  pittance,  even  for  our  common  purposes  while  in- 
camp;  but  those  who  have  families  dependent  on  them  at 
home  are  reduced  to  a  deplorable  condition."  The 
officers  of  the  Jersey  troops,  in  their  memorial  to  the 
Legislature  of  New  Jersey,  declare  that  "  four  months' 
pay  of  a  soldier  would  not  procure  for  his  family  a  bush- 
el of  wheat;  that  the  pay  of  a  colonel  would  not  purchase 
oats  for  his    liorse;  that  a   common   laborer  or  express- 


126 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


rider  received  four  times  as  much  as  an  American  offi- 
cer." 

If  such  were  their  circumstances  let  us  rather  admire 
than  condemn  these  brave  men  at  Morristown,  who  were 
striving  to  invest  the  stern  severities  of  that  winter  with 
something  of  the  grayer  and  more  frivolous  courtesies  of 
fashionable  life. 

As  for  fighting,  there  was  but  little,  the  principal  expe- 
dition being  the  descent  of  a  detachment  on  Staten  Island, 
under  Lord  Stirling.  The  expectations  raised  by  this 
expedition  are  quite  flatteringly  told  in  an  unpublished 
letter  of  Joseph  Lewis,  quartermaster.  He  writes,  un- 
der date  of  "January  15th  1780,"  that  he  had  orders 
from  General  Greene  to  procure  three  hundred  sleds  to 
parade  Friday  morning  at  this  post  and  at  Mr.  Kim- 
ble's. *  *  *  *  I  (iifj  not  fail  to  exert  myself  on  the 
occasion,  and  the  magistrates  gained  deserved  applause. 
About  five  hundred  sleds  or  sleighs  were  collected,  the 
majority  of  which  were  loaded  with  troops,  artillery,  &c. 
These  sleds  and  as  many  more  are  to  return  loaded  with 
stores  from  the  British  magazines  on  Staten  Island,  ex- 
cept some  few  that  are  to  be  loaded  with  wounded  Brit- 
ish prisoners.  About  3,000  troops  are  gone,  under  the 
command  of  Lord  Stirling,  with  a  determination  to  re- 
move all  Staten  Island,  bag  and  baggage,  to  Morris- 
town!" 

This  expedition  failed  of  realizing  its  object,  because 
the  enemy,by  some  means,had  been  put  on  his  guard.  Still, 
Collins  of  the  New  Jersey  Gazette  was  sure  it  would 
"show  the  British  mercenaries  with  what  zeal  and  alacrity 
the  Americans  will  embrace  every  opportunity,  even  in  a 
very  inclement  season,  to  promote  the  interest  of  the 
country  by  harassing  the  enemies  to  their  freedom  and 
independence."  And  on  the  22nd  of  that  January  Quarter- 
master Lewis  wrote  in  quite  a  subdued  tone:  "I  sup- 
pose you  have  heard  of  the  success  of  our  late  expedi- 
tion to  Staten  Island.  It  was  expensive  but  answered  no 
valuable  purpose.  It  showed  the  inclination  of  our  in- 
habitants to  plunder."  This  expedition  was  at  a  time 
when  "  the  cold  was  intense;"  about  500  of  the  soldiers 
had  their  feet  frozen. 

The  enemy,  by  the  way  of  retaliation,  on  the  25th  of 
January  crossed  to  Elizabethtown  and  burned  the  town- 
house  and  Presbyterian  church.  They  also  "plundered 
the  house  of  Jecaniah  Smith."  The  same  night  another 
party  "  made  an  excursion  to  Newark,  surprised  the 
guard  there,  took  Mr.  Justice  Hedden  out  of  his  bed; 
and  would  not  suffer  him  to  dress;  they  also  took  Mr. 
Robert  Niel,  burnt  the  academy,  and  went  off  with  pre- 
cipitation." Rivington's  Royal  Gazette  speaks  of  this 
Justice  Hedden  as  "  a  rebel  magistrate  remarkable  for 
his  persecuting  spirit." 

It  was  marvelous  that  Hedden  survived  that  march,  in 
such  weather,  from  Newark  to  New  York;  but  the  tough 
man  was  nerved  thereto  by  his  brutal  captors. 

But  have  the  troops  enough  to  eat?  General  Greene's 
letter  to  "  the  colonel  of  the  Morristown  malitia  "  gives 
us  a  most  sorrowful  answer.  "  The  army,"  writes  Greene 
in  January,  "is  upon  the  point  of  disbanding  for  want  of 
provisions,  the  poor  soldiers  having  been  for  several  days 
without  any,  and  there  not  being  more  than  a  suffi- 
ficiency  to  serve  one  regiment  in  the  magazine.  Pro- 
visions are  scarce  at  best,  but  the  late  terrible  storm,  the 
depth  of  the  snow,  and  the  drifts  in  the  roads  prevent 
the  little  stock  from  coming  forward  which  is  in  readiness 
at  the  distant  magazines.  This  is,  therefore,  to  request 
you  to  call  upon  the  militia  officers  and  men  of  your  bat- 
talion to  turn  out  their  teams  and  break  the  roads  frorn 
between  this  and  Hackettstown,  there  being  a  small  quan- 
tity of  provisions  there  that  cannot  come  until  that  is 
done.     The  roads  must  be  kept  open  by  the  inhabitants, 


or  the  army  cannot  be  subsisted;  and  unless  the  good 
people  immediately  lend  their  assistance  to  forward  sup- 
plies the  army  must  disband.  The  direful  consequences 
of  such  an  event  I  will  not  torture  your  feelings  with  a 
description  of;  but  remember  the  surrounding  inhab- 
itants will  experience  the  first  melancholy  effects  of  such 
a  raging  evil." 

On  the  nth  of  January  Greene  wrote:  "Such  weather 
as  we  have  had  never  did  I  feel,"  and  the  snow  was 
so  deep  and  drifted  "  that  we  drive  over  the  tops  of 
the  fences."  He  then  describes  the  sufferings  of  the 
soldiers,  and  adds:  "They  have  displayed  a  degree  of 
magnanimity  under  their  sufferings  which  does  them  the 
highest  honor."  On  the  loth  of  March  Joseph  Lewis  tells 
his  superior  officer:  "  I  should  be  happy  to  receive  about 
fifty  thousand  dollars  to  persuade  the  wagoners  to  stay  in 
camp  until  May,  which  will  prevent  the  troops  from  suf- 
fering." And  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month  he  again 
writes:  "  I  am  no  longer  able  to  procure  a  single  team  to 
relieve  the  distresses  of  our  army,  to  bring  in  a  supply  of 
wood,  or  forward  the  stores  which  are  absolutely  neces- 
sary. *  *  *  I  wish  I  could  inhabit  some  kind  retreat 
from  those  dreadful  complaints,  unless  I  had  a  house 
filled  with  money  and  a  magazine  of  forage  to  guard  and 
protect  me.  Good  God!  where  are  our  resources  fled? 
We  are  truly  in  a  most  pitiable  situation  and  almost  dis- 
tracted with  calls  that  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  answer." 

But  there  is  another  fact  which  adds  a  deeper  shade  to 
this  picture  of  suffering,  since  from  Thatcher's  Military 
Journal  we  have  this  sentence,  in  which,  with  no  liftle  ex- 
ultation, he  says:  "  Having  to  this  late  season— February 
14th  —  in  our  tents  experienced  the  greatest  incon- 
venience, we  have  now  the  satisfaction  of  taking  posses- 
sion of  the  log  huts  just  completed  by  our  soldiers,  where 
we  shall  have  more  comfortable  accommodations,"  and 
yet  in  March  he  says:  "  Our  soldiers  are  in  a  wretched 
condition  for  want  of  clothes,  blankets  and  shoes,  and 
these  calamitous  circumstances  are  accompanied  by  a 
want  of  provisions." 

From  these  letters,  written  by  actual  witnesses,  we  are 
able  to  gather  enough  of  facts  to  aid  us  in  appreciating 
the  condition  of  the  army. 

I  may  appropriately  close  this  historical  monograph 
with  an  original  letter  of  Washington,  which  has  never 
yet  been  published,  and  which  is  a  very  striking  com- 
mentary on  the  difficulties  of  his  position  the  last  winter 
he  was  in  Morristown.  It  was  found  among  some  old 
papers  in  the  possession  of  Stephen  Thompson,  Esq.,  of 
Mendham,  a  son  of  Captain  David  Thompson,  who  is  re- 
ferred to  in  this  article.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the 
great  snow  storm  which  caused  such  distress  in  camp 
began  on  the  3d  of  January  1780.  The  famine  which 
threatened  the  army  caused  Washington  to  write  a  letter 
"to  the  magistrates  of  New  Jersey,"  which  is  published 
in  Sparks's  edition  of  the  Writings  of  Washington.  A 
copy  of  that  letter  was  inclosed  in  the  letter  which  is 
now  published  for  the  fi-rst  time.  It  is  a  valuable  letter, 
as  showing  that  Washington's  "  integrity  was  most  pure, 
his  justice  most  inflexible." 

Headquarters,  Morristown,  January  8th  1780. 

"  Sir, — The  present  distresses  of  the  army,  with  which 
you  are  well  acquainted,  have  determined  me  to  call  upon 
the  respective  counties  of  the  State  for  a  proportion  of 
grain  and  cattle,  according  to  the  abilities  of  each. 

"  For  this  purpose  I  have  addressed  the  magistrates  of 
every  county,  to  induce  them  to  undertake  the  business. 
This  mode  I  have  preferred,  as  the  one  least  inconvenient 
to  the  inhabitants;  but,  in  case  the  requisition  should  not 
be  coinplied  with,  we  must  then  raise  the  supplies  our- 
selves in  the  best  manner  we  can.  This  I  have  signified 
to  the  magistrates. 


CLOSING  REVOLUTIONARY  EVENTS. 


127 


"I  have  pitched  upon  you  to  superintend  the  execu- 
tion of  this  measure  in  the  county  of  Bergen,  which  is  to 
furnish  two  hundred  head  of  cattle  and  eight  hundred 
bushels  of  grain. 

"  You  will  proceed,  then,  with  all  dispatch,  and  call  on 
the  justices;  will  deliver  the  inclosed  address,  enforcing  it 
with  a  more  particular  detail  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
troops,  the  better  to  convince  them  of  the  necessity  of 
their  exertions.  You  will,  at  the  same  time,  let  them  del- 
icately know  that  you  are  instructed,  in  case  they  do  not 
take  up  the  business  immediately,  to  begin  to  impress  the 
articles  called  for  throughout  the  county.  You  will  press 
for  an  immediate  answer,  and  govern  yourself  accordingly. 
If  it  be  a  compliance,  you  will  concert  with  them  a  proper 
place  for  the  reception  of  the  articles  and  the  time  of  the 
delivery,  which  for  the  whole  is  to  be  in  four  days  after 
your  application  to  them.  The  owners  will  bring  their 
grain  and  cattle  to  this  place,  where  the  grain  is  to  be 
measured  and  the  cattle  estimated  by  any  two  of  the 
magistrates,  in  -conjunction  with  the  commissary,  Mr. 
Voorhees,  who  will  be  sent  to  you  for  the  purpose,  and 
certificates  given  by  the  commissary,  specifying  the  quan- 
tity of  each  article  and  the  terms  of  payment.  These 
are  to  be  previously  settled  with  the  owners,  who  are  to 
choose  whether  they  will  receive  the  present  market 
price — which,  if  preferred,  is  to  be  inserted — or  the  mar- 
ket price  at  the  time  of  payment.  Immediately  on  re- 
ceiving the  answer  of  the  magistrates  you  will  send  me 
word  what  it  is. 

"  In  case  of  refusal  you  will  begin  to  impress  till  you 
make  up  the  quantity  required.  This  you  will  do  with 
as  much  tenderness  as  possible  to  the  inhabitants,  having 
regard  to  the  stock  of  each  individual,  that  no  family 
maybe  deprived  of  its  necessary  subsistence.  Milch  cows 
are  not  to  be  included  in  the  impress.  To  enable  you  to 
execute  this  business  with  more  effect  and  less  incon- 
venience, you  will  call  upon  Colonel  Fell  and  any 
other  well  affected  active  man  in  the  county,  and  en- 
deavor to  engage  their  advice  and  assistance.  You  are 
also  authorized  to  impress  wagons  for  the  transportation 
of  the  grain. 

"  If  the  magistrates  undertake  the  business,  which  I 
should  infinitely  prefer  on  every  account,  you  will  en- 
deavor to  prevail  upon  them  to  assign  mills  for  the  re- 
ception and  preparation  of  such  grain  as  the  commissary 
thinks  will  not  be  immediately  needful  in  the  camp. 

"  I  have  reposed  this  trust  in  you  from  a  perfect  con- 
fidence in  your  prudence,  zeal  and  respect  for  the  rights 
of  citizens.  While  your  measures  are  adapted  to  the 
emergency,  and  you  consult  what  you  owe  to  the  ser- 
vice, Jam  persuaded  that  you  will  not  forget  that,  as  we 
are  compelled  by  necessity  to  take  the  property  of  cit- 
izens for  the  support  of  the  army,  on  whom  their  safety 
depends,  you  should  be  careful  to  manifest  that  we  have 
a  respect  for  their  rights,  and  wish  not  to  do  anything 
which  that  necessity,  and  even  their  own  good,  do  not 
absolutely  require. 

"  I  am,  sir,  with  great  respect  and  esteem, 
"  Your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  Go.  Washington." 
Washington  left  Morristown  in  the  early  part  of  June. 
On  the  loth  of  June  he  was  at  Springfield,  where  he  had 
his  headquarters  until  the  21st,  on  which  day,  with  the 
exception  of  two  brigades  under  General  Greene,  the 
whole  army  was  marching  slowly  toward  the  Hudson  via 
Pompton.  On. the  6th  of  June  General  Knyphausen  had 
attempted  to  reach  Morristown.  He  landed  at  Eliza- 
bethtown  Point  and  proceeded  as  far  as  Connecticut 
Farms;  but  was  met  so  warmly  by  General  Maxwell  and 


"  his  nest  of  American  hornets  "  that  he  beat  a  hasty 
retreat.  During  this  incursion  Mrs.  Caldwell,  wife  of  a 
chaplain  in  our  army,  was  wantonly  murdered  in  her  own 
house.  When  the  enemy  learned  the  troops  were  on  the 
march  they  made  another  attempt  to  reach  Morristown 
and  on  the  23d  of  June  the  vigilant  sentinels  on  the 
Short  Hills  discovered  signs  of  invasion  and  gave  the 
alarm.  On  that  day  the  battle  of  Springfield  was  fought. 
Washington  heard  of  the  invasion  when  near  Pompton 
and  hastened  back,  with  a  body  of  troops,  to  support 
Greene;  but  the  enemy,  after  having  forced  back  the 
Americans  and  burned  Springfield,  finding  they  were 
likely  to  be  surrounded  by  a  superior  force,  retired. 

The  following  pasquinade,  in  ridicule  of  this  British 
attempt  to  reach  Morristown,  was  publicly  posted  in  New 
York  city,  August  12th  1780,  and  afterward  printed  in 
the  Political  Ma^avAne,  London,  1781,  pages  290,  291: 

"  Old  Knip— (Knyphausen) 
And  old  Clip— (Gen.  Robertson) 
Went  to  the  Jersey  shore 
The  rebel  rogues  to  beat ; 
But  at  Yankee  Farms 
They  took  the  alarms 
At  little  harms, 
And  quickly  did  retreat. 

Then  after  two  da.ys'  wonder 
Marched  boldly  to  Springfield  town. 
And  sure  they'd  knock  the  rebels  down ; 

But  as  their  foes 

Gave  them  some  blows. 

They,  like  the  wind, 

Soon  changed  their  mind. 

And  in  a  crack 

Eeturned  back 

From  not  one  third  their  number !" 

The  remarkable  fact  remains  that  the  enemy  never 
reached  our  county,  except  now  and  then  a  marauding 
party. 

MUTINY    AMONG    THE    TROOPS. 

Although  the  main  army  left  Morristown  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1780,  this  point  was  of  too  great  importance  to 
leave  entirely  undefended.  The  local  militia  and  some 
other  forces  still  remained.  It  was  on  the  first  day  of  the 
following  year,  January  ist  1781,  that  the  mutiny  of  the 
Pennsylvania  troops,  under  General  Wayne,  the  "  Mad 
Anthony"  of  the  Revolution,  occurred.  These  troops, 
2,000  in  number,  had  enlisted  for  three  years,  "'or  during 
the  war."  There  was  no  thought  that  the  war  would  last 
longer  than  three  years;  and  the  phrase  "or  during  the 
war  "  meant,  they  claimed,  that  they  should  be  dismissed 
at  its  expiration  in  case  it  did  not  last  three  years. 
Their  officers  gave  to  it  the  other  construction,  that  they 
had  enlisted  for  the  war,  no  matter  how  long  it  might 
continue. 

Added  to  this  cause  of  dissatisfaction  was  the  fact  that 
they  had  received  no  pay  for  twelve  months,  and  were 
without  necessary  clothing  and  food.  These  circum- 
stances were  sufficient  to  excite  a  spirit  of  insurrection, 
which  on  the  date  above  mentioned  manifested  itself  in 
open  revolt. 

On  a  preconcerted  signal  the  whole  line,  except  a  part 
of  three  regiments,  paraded  under  arms  without  their 
officers,  marched  to  the  magazines  and  supplied  them- 


18 


128 


HISTORY  OF  MORRIS  COUNTY. 


selves  with  provisions  and  ammunition;  and,  seizing  six 
field  pieces,  took  horses  from  General  Wayne's  stable  to 
transport  them.  The  officers  of  the  line  collected  those 
who  had  not  yet  joined  the  insurgents  and  endeavored  to 
restore  order;  but  the  revolters  fired  and  killed  a  Captain 
Billing,  and  wounded  several  other  officers,  and  a  few 
men  were  killed  on  each  side.  The  mutineers  com- 
manded the  party  who  opposed  them  to  come  over  to 
them  instantly,  or  they  should  be  bayoneted,  and  the 
order  was  obeyed. 

General  Wayne  endeavored  to  interpose  his  influence 
and  authority,  urging  them  to  return  to  their  duty  till 
their  grievances  could  be  inciuired  into  and  redressed. 
But  all  was  to  no  purpose,  and  on  cocking  his  pistol  they 
instantly  presented  their  bayonets  to  his  breast,  saying: 
"We  respect  and  love  you;  often  have  yau  led  us  into 
the  field  of  battle,  but  we  are  no  longer  under  your  com- 
mand; we  warn  you  to  be  on  your  guard;  if  you  fire  your 
pistol,  or  attempt  to  enforce  your  commands,  we  shall 
put  you  instantly  to  death." 

Finding  both  threats  and  expostulation  in  vain.  Gen- 
eral Wayne  resolved  to  accompany  his  men,  and  ordered 
his  quartermaster  to  supply  them  with  provisions. 

That  these  troops  were  inspired  by  no  traitorous  sen- 
timents is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
hearing  of  the  mutiny,  sent  two  emissaries,  a  British  ser- 
geant, and  a  New  Jersey  tory  by  the  name  of  Ogden,  to 
offer  them  flattering  inducements  to  place  themselves 
under  the  protection  of  the  British  government.  These 
offers  were  spurned,  and  the  two  emissaries  in  due  time 
handed  over  to  General  Wayne.  They  were  eventually 
tried  as  spies,  convicted,  and  immediately  executed. 

On  the  4th  of  January  the  mutineers  reached  Prince- 
ton, where  they  were  met  by  a  committee  of  Congress, 
and  their  demands  satisfied. 

The  Jersey  troops  were  not  proof  against  the  example 
of  their  Pennsylvania  comrades,  as  appears  from  the 
private  journal  of  William  S.  Pennington.     He  writes: 

"Monday,  zzd  [oi  January  1781),  we  received  informa- 
tion that  the  Jersey  line  had  followed  the  example  of 
Pennsylvania  in  mutinying,  in  consequence  of  which  a 
detachment  of  artillery,  consisting  of  three  3-pounders, 
to  be  commanded  by  Captain  Stewart,  was  ordered  to 
parade  immediately.  I  was  ordered  to  join  the  above 
detachment  vice  Ailing. 

25th. — This  day  the  detachment  marched  to  Smith's 
Cove,  and  halted  for  the  night. 

26th. — This  day  we  marched  to  Ringwood,  and  joined 
a  detachment  under  Major  General  Howe. 

"Saturday,  2-]th. — This  day  the  above  detachment 
marched  at  i  o'clock,  and  at  daylight  surrounded  the 
Jersey  encampment  near  Pompton,  where  the  mutineers 
were  quartered.  No  other  terms  were  offered  to  them 
than  to  immediately  parade  without  their  arms.  General 
Howe  likewise  sent  them  word,  by  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Barber,  that  if  they  did  not  comply  in  five  minutes  he 
would  put  them  all  to  the  sword,  rather  than  run  the  risk 
of  which  they  surrendered.  Upon  which  the  general 
ordered  a  court  martial  in  the  field  to  try  some  of  their 
leaders,  three  of  whom,  namely,  Grant,  Tuttle,  and 
Gilmore,  were  sentenced  to  suffer  death.  Grant,  from 
■^ome  circumstances  in  his  behavior,  was  pardoned. 
Tuttle  and  Gilmore  were  immediately  executed.     The 


mutineers  returned  to  their  duty,  and  received  a  general 
pardon." 

THE  MORRISTOWN  GHOST. 

Shortly  after  the  Revolution  considerable  local  history 
was  made  by  the  appearance  of  the  far-famed  Morristown 
Ghost. 

It  is  not  remarkable  that  the  people  of  a  century  ago 
should  have  believed  in  witches  and  hobgoblins.  We 
need  not  enumerate  the  causes  of  this  superstitious 
credulity.  The  fact  is  that  which  now  concerns  us.  The 
staid  people  of  this  vicinity  were  no  exception  to  the 
general  belief  of  that  time  in  ghosts.  The  more  recent 
freedom  of  our  community  from  this  superstition  is 
probably  due  as  much  to  the  exposure  of  his  ghostship, 
which  we  propose  to  relate,  as  to  the  advanced  enlighten- 
ment of  the  age. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century  a  book  appeared 
of  which  the  following  is  the  title  page: 

"  The  Morristown  Ghost;  an  Account  of  the  Beginning, 
Transactions,  and  Discovery  of  Ransford  Rogers,  who 
seduced  many  by  pretended  Hobgoblins  and  Apparitions, 
and  thereby  extorted  money  from  their  pockets.  In  the 
County  of  Morris  and  State  of  New  Jersey,  in  the  year 
1788.     Printed  for  every  purchaser — 1792." 

Who  wrote  and  who  published  this  pamphlet  can  not 
now  be  certainly  ascertained.  Some  supposed  that 
Rogers  himself  wrote  it,  in  order  to  increase  his  revenues 
and  also  to  punish  the  Morristown  people  for  their 
treatment  of  him.  From  the  resemblance  of  the  type 
and  paper  to  that  used  in  the  New  Jersey  Journal  of 
that  date  the  suspicion  is  not  unwarranted  that  the 
pamphlet  was  published  by  Sheppard  Kollock,  of 
EHzabethtown. 

The  names  of  many  prominent  persons  in  the  com- 
munity figured  in  this  pamphlet.  It  is  not  difficult  there- 
fore to  believe  the  tradition  that  the  edition  so  far  as 
possible  was  bought  ^p  and  destroyed.  Such  things, 
however,  refuse  to  die.  David  Young,  "  Philom.,"  whose 
name  figured  so  conspicuously  on  the  title  pages  of  half 
the  almanacs  of  forty  years  ago,  accidentally  found  a  copy 
of  the  work  in  Elizabeth;  and  thus  in  1826  appeared 
"The  Wonderful  History  of  the  Morristown  Ghost; 
thoroughly  and  carefully  revised.  By  David  Young, 
Newark.  Published  by  Benjamin  Olds,  for  the  author. 
J.  C.  Totten,  Printer." 

In  1876  a  fac-simile  copy  of  the  original  history  of  the 
Morristown  ghost,  "  with  an  appendix  compiled  from  the 
county  records,"  was  pubHshed  by  L.  A.  and  B.  H.  "Yoght 
and  it  can,  we  believe,  still  be  secured  from  them. 

The  affair  created  intense  excitement  at  the  time,  and 
not  a  little  merriment  at  the  expense  of  those  so  cleverly 
duped.  A  few  years  later  it  furnished  the  materials  of  an 
amusing  comedy,  which  was  played  at  a  public  exhibition 
in  Newark,  the-  author  of  which,  if  tradition  may  be 
trusted,  was  a  son  of  Rev.  James  Richards,  D.  D.,  a 
former  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  this 
place. 

In  the  following  account  of  this  humbug  we  suppress 


THE  MORRISTOWN  GHOST. 


129 


the  names  of  the  duped,  as  they  are  not  generally  known 
and  some  of  their  descendants  are  with  us  unto  this  day. 
It  was  a  common  opinion  at  that  time  that  large  sums 
of  money  had  been  buried  during  the  Revolutionary  war 
by  tories  and  others  in  Schooley's  Mountain.  It  was 
supposed  to  be  thus  concealed  to  protect  it  on  the  one 
hand  from  confiscation  by  the  colonists,  or  on  the  other 
from  the  demands  of  the  war.  Many  of  these  tories 
never  returned  to  their  homes,  while  many  of  the  other 
class  died  during  the  contest;  their  treasures  being,  so  it 
was  believed,  still  under  the  ground. 

Moreover  these  treasures  were  guarded  by  the  spirits, 
so  that  no  one  could  obtain  them  who  did  not  possess 
the  art  of  dispelling  spirits. 

In  the  summer  of  1788  two  Morris  county  men,  travel- 
ing through  Smith's  Clove,  New  York,  fell  in  with  a  school 
teacher  from  Connecticut,  one  Ransford  Rogers.  These 
men  had  long  been  in  search  of  some  one  who  possessed 
sufficient  power  to  recover  the  Schooley's  Mountain 
treasure.  Rogers  professed  to  have  a  "  deep  knowledge 
of  chymistry  "  and  all  the  sciences,  which  gave  him,  he 
claimed,  the  power  to  raise  and  dispel  good  or  evil 
spirits.  Visions  of  speedy  fortune  rose  before  the  two 
travelers,  and  they  urged  him  to  accompany  them  to 
Morristown;  this,  after  a  modest  refusal,  he  consented 
to  do,  they  promising  him  a  school  in  the  neighborhood. 
He  accordingly  came  to  Morristown  and  was  installed  as 
school  teacher  about  three  miles  from  the  town,  on  the 
Mendham  road;  the  school-house  stood  on  the  hill  near 
where  is  now  the  residence  of  Samuel  F.  Pierson.  He 
took  charge  of  this  school  early  in  August,  but  being  im- 
portuned to  exhibit  his  art  he  found  he  needed  an  ac- 
complice and  accordingly  went  back  to  New  England  for 
one,  returning  in  September.  Rogers  now  gathered  his 
believers,  to  the  number  of  about  eight,  and  held  a  secret 
meeting;  he  assured  them  the  treasure  was  there,  and  that 
it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  raise  and  consult  the  guard- 
ian spirits  before  it  could  be  obtained;  this  he  assured 
them  he  was  able  to  do,  and  at  the  close  of  the  con- 
venticle enjoined  them  to  refrain  from  all  immorality 
lest  the  spirits  should  be  provoked  and  withhold 
the  treasure.  The  members  of  the  company,  trans- 
ported with  dazzling,  golden  visions,  communicated  their 
hopes  to  friends,  and  their  number  was  soon  increased  to 
forty.  Rogers  pretended  to  have  frequent  meetings  with 
the  spirits,  and,  to  strengthen  the  faith  of  the  weak,  com- 
pounded substances  Avhich  being  thrown  into  the  air 
would  explode,  producing  various  extraordinary  and 
mysterious  appearances,  which  the  spectators  believed  to 
be  caused  by  supernatural  power;  others  were  buried  in 
the  earth,  and  after  a  certain  time  would  occasion  dread- 
ful explosioiis,  which  in  the  night  appeared  very  dismal 
and  caused  much  timidity.  The  company  was  impatient 
of  delay,  and  wished  to  proceed  in  quest  of  the  promised 
riches.  A  night  was  appointed  for  a  general  meeting, 
and  though  very  stormy  all  were  there,  some  riding  as 
much  as  twelve  miles  for  the  purpose  of  attending.  The 
spirit  now  appeared,  and  told  them  they  must  meet  on  a 
certain    night    in  a  field   half   a   mile    from  any  house, 


where  they  must  form  certain  angles  and  circles,  and  not 
get  outside  the  boundary  of  the  same,  on  pain  of  extirpa- 
tion.     On   the   appointed   night    they   assembled,    and 
about  half  past  ten  went  within  the  circle,  and  forming 
a  procession  marched  round  and  round.    They  were  sud 
denly   shocked  by  a  terrible   explosion  in   the  earth,  a 
short  distance  from  them,  caused  as  above  stated  but